‘Bowen Homes is alive again:’ Leaders celebrates investment reviving Atlanta neighborhood

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – An abandoned neighborhood on the Westside of Atlanta is set to see a major revitalization.

The City of Atlanta just received a $40 million allocation from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

On Thursday, federal and city officials officially celebrated the funding at a celebration in the former community along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

Mayor Andre Dickens said this will be the starter funds to help revive the Bowen Homes Community, which was founded in 1967.

The crime-ridden complex was demolished in 2009.

“We all fought, we’re still fighting,” said Wysheki Epps, who said she grew up in the Bowen Homes complex.

“And we’re being rewarded. And we’re being rewarded. One opportunity for the next future, and I just want to say thank you,” said Epps, during the Thursday press conference.

Mayor Dickens said the complex will bring roughly 2,000 units of affordable housing to Atlanta’s westside.

Dickens has set a goal to build or restore 20,000 units of affordable housing by 2030.

The overall project is set to cost nearly $500 million, according to Eugene Jones, president of the Atlanta Housing Authority.

Construction is set to start on the first phase of the project within 15 months, said Josh Humphries, the Mayor’s Policy Advisor for Housing.

Atlanta News First talked with multiple neighbors along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

Some feared the new growth will lead to increased property taxes and price them out of the historic neighborhood.

Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta) said she wants this project to be beneficial for legacy residents as well.

“We want to see growth in our communities, but we want to make sure that people who are legacy residents are able to stay in these communities and that’s what we’re able to do with projects like this,” said Rep. Williams.

Atlanta was one of eight cities to secure the $40 million funding from HUD.

“Bowen Homes is alive again, and I’m so excited,” said April Showers, who grew up in the Bowen Homes community.

Showers, who also attended the celebration ceremony, said it was hard to see her community sit unused for nearly 15 years.

“On this westside of Atlanta, we cherish where we come from,” said Showers.

“And to just see it vacant for so many years, a decade-plus, it’s kind of like disheartening,” Showers continued.

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