ARC awards 2025 Livable Centers Initiative grants, announces Community Development Assistance Program recipients

At the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) board meeting on Wednesday, the ARC announced its 2025 awards for Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) grants and the recipients of this year’s Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP). 

Six LCI planning studies will be funded through more than $1 million in grants from ARC to make metro area communities more walkable and bikeable, with a focus on main street or downtown districts as well as transit centers. The grants require a 20% match from a local government or community improvement district. 

Once the studies are completed, LCI grant recipients are eligible to apply for federal transportation funding to implement their plans, which are designed to reduce vehicle miles traveled, improve air quality, and encourage more walking or other alternate modes of transportation. 

The 2025 recipients include: 

Ashby MARTA Station Connectivity Study

• Project Sponsor: City of Atlanta

• Grant amount: $200,000

• This study will build off of the 2009 Vine City and Washington Park LCI plan to address safer street design to eliminate traffic fatalities, expanded access to equitable and affordable mobility options through bike and pedestrian projects and improved connectivity to the station’s transit service. The project will also look at connecting local commercial districts with nearby neighborhoods and elevating the historic and public spaces around the station to make it more welcoming and functional. 

Avondale Estates Downtown Master Plan Update

• Project Sponsor: City of Avondale Estates

• Grant Amount: $160,000

• Avondale Estates will be updating its 2014 Downtown Master Plan with this grant funding. The 2025 study will incorporate recommendations for further research and collaboration with developers, city organizations, and regional agencies. The updated plan will provide a big-picture vision for land-use and urban design, as well as specific policy and program suggestions to improve transportation options, affordable housing accessibility, environmental sustainability, and enjoyable public spaces in the downtown area. 

Kensington Area Master Plan Update

• Project Sponsor: DeKalb County

• Grant Amount: $200,000

• This study will update the 2023 Kensington Station Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Master Plan, expanding its scope to focus on the 870 acres beyond the TOD footprint. The plan will examine potential redevelopment opportunities for a large catalytic site owned by DeKalb County near the Kensington MARTA station and seek community input to refine and enhance recommendations from previous studies. 

Cobb Parkway Gateway & Connectivity Study

• Project Sponsor: City of Kennesaw

• Grant Amount: $160,000

• The Kennesaw LCI grant will fund a study of the Cobb Parkway commercial corridor, which has been negatively impacted by vacant and poorly maintained buildings. This plan will identify locations for trails and entry points to connect Cobb Parkway to downtown Kennessaw, suggest places where “green” stormwater systems can support additional development, create design standards for Cobb Parkway, and provide a market analysis of sites and concepts that will complement existing businesses and spaces in downtown Kennesaw.  

Olde Town Conyers Master Plan Update

• Project Sponsor: City of Conyers

• Grant Amount: $160,000

• Conyers will use the grant to update its Olde Town Conyers Master Plan from about 10 years ago. The study comes as Rockdale County is constructing its new Justice and Administrative Complex in downtown Conyers, and this planning process will identify multi-modal connection opportunities and collect input from stakeholders for a vision to create a more vibrant, safe area for workers, residents, and visitors. 

One Northlake

• Project Sponsor: Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District

• Grant Amount: $160,000

• The One Northlake Plan will identify multimodal connections in the Tucker-Northlake area and develop a strategy to link the planned top-end I-285 bus express lane exits, multi-use trails, and bikeshare stations with existing roads, sidewalks, MARTA routes, and the proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) station. The study aims to help secure funding for transit projects and help developers recognize the opportunities in Tucker. 

This is the 26th year of the ARC’s LCI program. The regional planning authority is also working on a comprehensive assessment of the program’s impact over the last 25 years in order to make improvements and changes for the 2026 cycle and beyond, Samyukth Shenbaga, Managing Director of Community Development at ARC, said. 

The ARC also announced seven 2025 recipients of CDAP support. These projects will receive either planning and technical expertise from ARC staff and partners like the Urban Land Institute Atlanta, Georgia Conservancy, and local universities or grant funding. 

Selected out of 13 applicants, the CDAP studies include: 

Preserving the Catalytic Community of Pearidge

• Project Sponsor: Cherokee County

• Assistance Type: Staff

• Cherokee County will receive assistance from ARC staff to conduct a planning study focused on affordability and historic preservation in the Pearidge community. 

Clarkston Housing Summit

• Project Sponsor: City of Clarkston

• Assistance Type: Staff

• ARC staff will support the Clarkston Housing Summit to empower community members to better understand the city’s housing situation and gather stakeholder feedback to inform future city planning efforts.  

Rockdale County Housing Assessment

• Project Sponsor: Rockdale County

• Assistance Type: Staff

• Rockdale County will work with ARC staff support to conduct a housing assessment in order to create a plan for growth, provide accessible senior housing, and establish an appropriate mix of housing options. 

City of Decatur Heat Mitigation Strategy

• Project Sponsor: City of Decatur

• Assistance Type: Partner (Georgia State University)

• The City of Decatur will work with Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies to develop both short-term and long-term strategies to mitigate the city’s urban heat island effect. 

Douglas Boulevard – An Economic Envisioning Plan

• Project Sponsor: City of Douglasville

• Assistance Type: Partner (Georgia Tech Urban Design Studio)

• The City of Douglasville will receive support from the Georgia Tech Urban Design Studio to create a plan to develop Arbor Place Mall as a walkable place with a mix of retail, office, and residential uses along with public green space. 

Blacksville Neighborhood Plan

• Project Sponsor: City of McDonough

• Assistance Type: Partner (Georgia Conservancy)

• This study will look at improving resiliency by creating more green spaces and beautification projects in Blacksville through collaboration with residents, local leaders, and community organizations and with support from Georgia Conservancy 

Clayton County Housing Assessment and Strategy

• Project Sponsor: Clayton County

• Assistance Type: Grant ($200,000)

• Clayton County and the cities of Lake City, Lovejoy, Forest Park, Riverdale, and Jonesboro will receive a $200,000 grant to conduct a data-driven analysis of the housing market and allow local governments to better understand which improvements and strategies are needed to make housing more accessible and affordable for residents. 

These CDAP projects were selected through a competitive process and each local effort addresses at least one of six regional challenges, including access to healthy food, creative placemaking, historic preservation, housing affordability, smart technology, and the impacts of climate change. 

Affordable housing is a top concern across the metro area, as evidenced by the types of community projects receiving ARC support this year and the in-depth discussion at the board meeting about ARC’s plan to launch a comprehensive regional housing and transportation study in the second half of 2025.