Metro Atlanta is vast, covering five counties — Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett — with 55 cities fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Last November, the folks in 14 cities voted to re-elect their mayor, and 10 cities elected someone new. Atlanta Civic Circle has put together a Q&A series with metro mayors, starting with […]
Category: Atlanta Civic Circle
Posted inHousing Affordability
Forest Cove’s expected demolition will force nearby elementary school for tenants’ children to close
The anticipated demolition of the southside’s long-neglected Forest Cove apartments will force the neighboring elementary school to shutter as families are uprooted to make way for its redevelopment. Children living at the Section 8 community make up the majority of Thomasville Heights Elementary School’s student body. But the 211 households that remain at the 396-unit complex will soon be […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
With Forest Cove’s demolition likely, city officials find temporary homes for most remaining tenants
Tenants at the fast-deteriorating Forest Cove apartment complex soon may be able to rest their heads in comfort and safety. City of Atlanta officials have identified 170 units available in other apartment complexes, which would be enough to temporarily house most of the 211 families still living at Forest Cove, Mayor Andre Dickens announced at […]
Posted inDemocracy
Libertarians renew legal quest to open up U.S. House races to 3rd-party candidates in Georgia
By Tammy Joyner and Meredith Hobbs It’s effectively impossible for a third-party candidate in Georgia to run for the U.S. House of Representatives because of an unusually restrictive ballot-access law that the state legislature enacted almost 80 years ago to keep Communists out of Congress. The Libertarian Party of Georgia has spent the last five […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Atlanta faith-based groups’ initiative aims to produce 1,000 affordable homes
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced an initiative Wednesday that could produce 1,000 affordable homes on land owned by churches, mosques, and synagogues over the next five years. The new endeavor — part of nonprofit developer Enterprise Community Partners’ Faith-Based Development Initiative — is projected to deliver 1,000 rental and for-sale units across 52 acres of land owned […]
Posted inDemocracy
What I’ve Learned: Jason Pye on creating viable third parties
The American appetite for a third political party is greater than ever, but getting a third-party candidate on the ballot in Georgia is nearly impossible. With the exception of the Libertarian Party, candidates from parties beyond the Democrats and Republicans rarely make it on statewide or local ballots. “Our ballot access laws are some of […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Amid rent strike, Forest Cove owner says condemned complex’s tenants won’t have to pay until relocated
Forest Cove tenants kicked off a rent strike Tuesday morning, just hours before Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens unveiled a plan for the city to help relocate the remaining families from the dilapidated Section 8 complex, which has been condemned by an Atlanta judge. And in a move that stunned residents and activists, the property owner, Millennia […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Can metro Atlanta lawmakers rein in Wall Street landlords jeopardizing housing affordability?
Lawmakers must crack down on the exploitative practices of Wall Street investor landlords if there’s to be any hope for housing affordability in metro Atlanta, experts told Atlanta Civic Circle this week. These so-called “institutional landlords” accounted for more than 40% of the single-family home purchases in the Atlanta, Sandy Springs, and Roswell area in the third quarter of […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
After years-long legal battle, Atlanta Housing board votes to finalize settlement with developers
Atlanta Housing (AH) has nearly freed itself from a years-long legal entanglement with Integral Group and its development partners. The housing authority’s board of commissioners on Wednesday approved a settlement deal that spells out how 88 acres of valuable, publicly owned land can be developed. The move, which still must be approved by the U.S. Department of […]
Posted inDemocracy
‘Divisive concepts’ bills elicit charges of censorship, fearmongering – and divisiveness
Lisa Morgan is facing one of the biggest challenges in her 23 years as a teacher in Georgia. It could cost her school millions of dollars if she gets it wrong. Georgia lawmakers are considering a package of “divisive concepts” bills that would radically change how Morgan and thousands of other educators statewide can talk […]
Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle
State agency turns over $80 million in unspent rental assistance funds to metro Atlanta counties with thousands of applicants
By Sean Keenan for Atlanta Civic Circle The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has released $80.6 million in federal rental assistance funds to five metro Atlanta counties — Fulton, DeKalb, Henry, Clayton, and Hall — that have already spent their own federal funds to help tenants facing eviction, with thousands more seeking aid. Fulton […]
Posted inAtlanta Civic Circle
Raffensperger on Trump, election reform and his legacy
By Tammy Joyner for Atlanta Civic Circle Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger isn’t one to call attention to himself. But the last two years have thrust Raffensperger and his family under the white-hot glare of national scrutiny and contempt from members of his own Republican party. The millionaire, civil engineer-turned-politician garnered unaccustomed attention after […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Without explanation, Atlanta Housing delays Bowen Homes redevelopment
By Maria Saporta and Sean Keenan In an unexpected twist, Atlanta Housing (AH) will push the long-awaited redevelopment of the former Bowen Homes public housing site to the back burner “until a later date,” the agency’s CEO, Eugene Jones, told Atlanta Civic Circle on Wednesday. “Hopefully before the end of the year,” he added. Asked why AH was delaying […]
Posted inDemocracy
American democracy has always been a leap of faith: Atlanta History Center explores its roots
For a brief chaotic time in the weeks between 1946 and 1947, Georgia had three governors–a political crisis caused by governor-elect Eugene Talmadge’s death before taking office that was unaddressed by the state constitution. And while drafting the documents that would shape the U.S. Constitution and guide American democratic principles, our nation’s 18th-century founders briefly […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Atlanta Housing punts considering developers for Bowen Homes site to resolve thorny lawsuit
The Atlanta Housing (AH) board of commissioners was set to consider potential master developers for the former Bowen Homes public housing site at a specially called meeting Thursday. The public housing agency needs a master developer for Bowen in place to apply for a grant worth up to $50 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and […]
Posted inDemocracy
A Renewed Hope for the Embattled Residents of Peoplestown
In the past decade, Robert and Bertha Darden have had numerous knocks on the door of their Peoplestown home by city officials. It usually meant bad news. But a recent knock at the door by one city official proved fruitful. It was Mayor Andre Dickens. He came alone. No entourage. No gaggle of media. Dickens […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
BREAKING: Atlanta mayor announces unexpected deal to resolve years-long legal beef between housing authority, developer
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has brokered a deal that’s expected to end years of costly legal drama between the city’s housing authority and developer Integral Group over development rights to 81 acres of Atlanta Housing-owned land. Dickens announced the deal at an unexpected press conference Thursday morning, just as the legal battle between Atlanta Housing […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Atlanta judge condemns “uninhabitable” Forest Cove apartments after years of remediation promises
After purchasing the dilapidated Forest Cove apartments on the Southside last April, Millennia Housing Management announced plans to invest over $56 million to rehabilitate them. But an Atlanta judge has condemned the property as a public nuisance and crime magnet, ordering its demolition and the swift relocation of its tenants, Atlanta Civic Circle has learned. Millennia officials told Atlanta Civic Circle just last week that […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
Westside’s former Bowen Homes site could soon see signs of life
After sitting idle for nearly 13 years, the sprawling Westside site that once housed the Bowen Homes public housing project could actually get a new lease on life. At a specially called meeting Feb. 2, the Atlanta Housing (AH) board of commissioners could finally select a master developer for the revitalization of the 74-acre property, […]
Posted inDemocracy
Unrigging democracy: Do you know who finances political campaigns?
You wouldn’t serve food to your family or take medication without knowing the ingredients. So why would you condone political ads that fail to disclose their biggest financial backers? Increasing transparency in campaign finance is one way to help voters make informed decisions in national and local elections, electoral accountability expert Daniel G. Newman said. […]
