A Recent Grant for Transformation in Atlanta West Side

More change is slated for Atlanta’s quickly-transforming west side, thanks in part to a recently-awarded $40M federal grant.

Bowen Homes, a mixed-use multifamily development, was considered a model community when it was constructed in the 1960s. However, decades of disinvestment across west side neighborhoods, coupled with high in-town crime rates in the 70s and 80s, resulted in the decline of Bowen Homes and other similar developments in the area. During the 90s and early 2000s, several of these developments were demolished and reborn as mixed-income neighborhoods, with a goal of curbing concentrated poverty and crime. In 2009, Bowen Homes was razed, and the property has sat vacant over the past decade.

Recently, however, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted $40 million to the City of Atlanta and developer partners to kickstart the Bowen Choice Neighborhood program, which seeks to transform the vacant space once occupied by Bowen Homes. The program envisions upwards of 2,000 for-rent and for-sale housing units, as well as a Community Resource Center and Innovation Hub situated on 74 acres. This would add much-needed housing to Atlanta’s in-town area with close access to Westside Reservoir Park, West Midtown, Midtown, and Downtown Atlanta, and the world’s busiest airport- Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. 

The DLBP team is always excited to see the addition of diverse housing types within our community.  DLBP recognizes there are many hurdles in this process, from financing to rezoning to creating a great sense of place within a community.  We look forward to seeing the city of Atlanta and its partners deliver this vision to provide much needed in-town housing and hope this will create a precedent for future housing growth!