Bowen Choice Neighborhood

The Bowen redevelopment is not just about new buildings — it’s about creating real opportunities for residents. A key part of the plan focuses on supporting jobs, training, and small businesses so families have more pathways to stability and growth.

Bowen’s future includes programs that help residents gain new skills, find employment, and start or grow their own businesses. These investments are designed to keep economic opportunity close to home, strengthening both families and the wider community.

Key economic investments include:

• Job training and workforce development, helping residents prepare for careers in growing industries

• Support for small businesses, including resources that help local entrepreneurs start, expand, or scale their companies

• A business retention and recruitment fund to attract and sustain community-serving businesses in the area

• Partnerships focused on innovation and education, giving residents access to new tools and career pathways

• Opportunities linked to new construction, retail, and community facilities within Bowen

These efforts help ensure that as Bowen grows, residents can grow with it. By connecting people to jobs, education, and business support, the redevelopment strengthens the neighborhood’s economic foundation and opens doors for long-term success.

The Bowen redevelopment will bring new housing choices designed for families at different income levels. The goal is to rebuild Bowen as a mixed-income neighborhood where longtime residents, returning families, and new neighbors can all find a place to call home.

The plan includes a range of housing types—apartments, townhomes, and for-sale homes—so the community can grow in a way that is both flexible and inclusive. By offering homes at different price points, Bowen is making room for families with a variety of needs and budgets.

What’s planned for Bowen:

• Up to 2,000 new homes across the full redevelopment area

• Mixed-income housing, including homes affordable to families earning 0–80% of the Area Median Income

• Additional homes priced for families earning up to 120% AMI

• A mix of mid-rise apartments, townhomes, duplexes, and “missing middle” housing that fits naturally into the neighborhood

• Designs that include courtyards, shared spaces, and green areas for residents

• Homes located near transit, parks, and community amenities

This approach supports a stable, welcoming community and helps ensure that Bowen’s future is rooted in opportunity—not displacement. The redevelopment gives residents more choices, more access, and more pathways to stay and thrive in the place they call home.

The new Bowen neighborhood will include several community spaces designed to make life easier, healthier, and more connected for families. These amenities bring services and resources closer to home, while creating places where residents can learn, shop, gather, and grow.

The plan introduces new centers for learning, recreation, and everyday needs, along with spaces that celebrate Bowen’s history and culture. These additions are meant to support the community’s well-being and give residents more opportunities right in their own neighborhood.

Key community amenities include:

• A modern community center for programs, events, and neighborhood gatherings

• A small grocery site, giving families easier access to fresh food

• Urban gardens that offer space for growing food and learning about healthy living

• A Memorial Plaza honoring Bowen’s history and former residents

• Improved recreational spaces like upgraded parks and sports areas

These spaces will help bring people together and give Bowen a stronger community foundation. They support the neighborhood’s past, present, and future—making Bowen a place where families can connect, thrive, and feel at home.

A major part of the Bowen Neighborhood plan is creating more parks and natural spaces that families can use every day. For years, the area faced flooding, limited green space, and aging infrastructure. The new design changes that by adding parks that are both beautiful and functional.

The plan includes a network of green areas that help manage stormwater, reduce flooding, and give residents more outdoor places to relax and play. These new spaces will bring nature back into the community while making the neighborhood safer and more resilient.

New green features coming to Bowen include:

• A central park for gatherings, events, and everyday use

• Rain gardens and stormwater ponds that control flooding while adding beauty

• A restored creek and greenway with trails for walking and biking

• An urban forest preserve that protects natural habitat

• Upgrades to A.D. Williams Park, including new turf and recreational areas

These improvements make it easier for families to enjoy the outdoors and provide healthier, cleaner environments for everyone. Bowen’s new green spaces aren’t just parks — they’re investments that help protect the neighborhood and create a stronger, more connected community.

One of the biggest changes coming to the Bowen neighborhood is improved mobility—making it easier, safer, and more convenient for residents to move around their community and access the places they need every day.

As part of the Bowen Choice Neighborhood plan, Atlanta Housing and the City of Atlanta are investing in new streets, sidewalks, trails, and infrastructure that reconnect Bowen to nearby neighborhoods like Carey Park and A.D. Williams. These upgrades replace old barriers with real pathways, giving families more options to walk, bike, take transit, or drive safely.

New investments include:

• Safer sidewalks and crosswalks along key routes

• Street extensions like St. Peters Avenue to improve access

• A new roundabout to help traffic flow smoothly

• Trail connections that link Bowen to parks and green spaces

• Road improvements and infrastructure upgrades across the area

These changes are designed to make Bowen feel connected—not cut off—so residents can reach schools, parks, transit, jobs, and local businesses with ease. Better mobility means stronger communities, and Bowen’s new street network is being built to support families for generations to come.

Atlanta Housing and Longline Development invite you to participate, share your thoughts, and help develop concepts for a creative play and outdoor gathering space in Watkins Park. Come to meet—and come to play—with the creative teams from Living Playgrounds and PlayLark.

There will be activities for kids and adults, refreshments, and an Easter egg hunt.

Come play with us. Help us design a fun, new outdoor space. No artistic skills are required.

Calling all Small Businesses located within the Bowen Choice Planning Area…have you been negatively affected by COVID-19 and need help to rise up, recover and thrive once again? The Resurgence Grant Fund is available to eligible businesses.

Click on the following link to obtain additional information:

https://www.investatlanta.com/businesses/small-businesses/resurgence-grant-fund

Thank you to everyone who attended the Community Open House on Tuesday, March 22, at the John Lewis Invictus Academy! We appreciate your continued support and ideas as we plan for the future of the Bowen Choice Neighborhood.

For those who were not able to make it in person, the 20-minute video that was shown at the meeting is available below. We encourage to you take a moment to watch, and provide your thoughts by taking this survey after watching.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Community Open House on Tuesday, March 22, at the John Lewis Invictus Academy! We appreciate your continued support and ideas as we plan for the future of the Bowen Choice Neighborhood.

For those who were not able to make it in person, the 20-minute video that was shown at the meeting is available below. We encourage to you take a moment to watch, and provide your thoughts by taking this survey after watching.

We would love it if you could also join us at the follow-up Zoom meeting this Thursday, March 24, at 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Zoom credentials are located below the video. We will be available to answer any questions you may have about Bowen, and the Bowen Choice Neighborhood initiative.

Zoom Public Open House

Join us for an in-person public open house on Tuesday, March 22, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at John Lewis Invictus Academy at 1890 D.L. Hollowell Parkway. This is an open house format, so drop-in whenever you have time that evening. Every hour, we will play a brief video providing a project update and afterwards, be available to talk about the project and answer any questions you may have. We will also have a short survey about housing and development, streets, parks and public art; and will be there to guide you through the survey and activities.

How will your input be used?

Atlanta Housing is writing and releasing a NEW request for proposals (RFP) for developers. This RFP, to be released in April, will include all of the design work we have finished to-date using all the community input we have heard since early 2021 and input we gather from you at this meeting. All the collected information will help us finalize the Bowen site plan that will be included in the RFP.

Can't make the in-person meeting?

We will post the video of the project updates on this website after the Open House, and make the same survey questions available here as well. Lastly, we will host a Zoom public open house a few days after the in-person Open House on March 22. We will post the date, time, and registration link here, so check back for more details.

In person, or via Zoom, we hope to see you there!

Questions? Email us at bowenchoiceneighborhood@atlantahousing.org or call us at (404) 685-4959. We look forward to hearing from you.