Bowen Choice Neighborhood

Family in kitchen

Atlanta Housing Presented $40 Million Grant Check by HUD for Bowen Transformation

Atlanta – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official Dominique Blom, Mayor Andre Dickens, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, affordable housing advocates, and community members came out Thursday to celebrate Atlanta Housing and the City of Atlanta as they received the grant check of $40 million to transform the Bowen Choice Neighborhood (BCN). The check presentation was preceded by a guided bus tour of the BCN footprint with stops throughout the surrounding neighborhood, the Brownfields remediation site, and local businesses. This federal grant will catalyze hundreds of millions of dollars for the Bowen Homes community.


“I am so excited to see Atlanta get this Choice Neighborhoods award,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The City of Atlanta and [Atlanta Housing] have demonstrated their commitment to neighborhood revitalization, having undergone a comprehensive planning effort to redevelop Bowen Homes and the entire Bowen area. The whole-of-government approach to neighborhood revitalization is what leads to impactful changes in the neighborhoods that need it the most.”

The CN program is consistent with the Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ vision for neighborhood revitalization and is part of the West Hollowell segment of the Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway transformational corridor initiative. AH has been working with the mayor’s office to develop strategies and focus resources in three areas consistent with the grant requirements: Housing, People, Neighborhood.


The Housing strategy supports the redevelopment of the former Bowen Homes site, with more than $300 million allocated for housing. The People strategy focuses on developing programs that will improve health, education and economic outcomes for former Bowen residents and the BCN community. The program leverages partnerships and resources with the Boys and Girls Club, Communities in Schools, Families First, Ga Tech CEISM, Goodwill of North Georgia, Grady Health System, Morehouse School of Medicine, Quality Care for Children, United Way, Urban League, Westside Works (CareerRise) and YMCA. Total funding for the People strategy is $42 million. The Neighborhood strategy focuses on residential and commercial blight removal, neighborhood housing development, acquisition and clean-up of contaminated properties, and public safety, with a budget of more than $200 million.


“This Choice Neighborhood grant will be transformational for the Bowen Choice Neighborhood and will leverage hundreds of millions in public and private resources to create new affordable housing, improve neighborhood amenities and provide new opportunities for current and former residents,” said Eugene E. Jones, Jr., president and CEO of Atlanta Housing. “Today is a great day.”

This is the second Choice Neighborhoods Grant awarded to AH and the City of Atlanta.

ABOUT ATLANTA HOUSING

Led by President and CEO Eugene Jones, Jr., the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), is the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation. AH provides and facilitates affordable housing resources for nearly 27,000 low-income households comprised of approximately 45,000 people, including AH-owned residential communities, tenant-based vouchers, supportive housing, and homeownership opportunities. Programs are funded and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.




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Atlanta Housing Presented $40 Million Grant Check by HUD for Bowen Transformation

Atlanta – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official Dominique Blom, Mayor Andre Dickens, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, affordable housing advocates, and community members came out Thursday to celebrate Atlanta Housing and the City of Atlanta as they received the grant check of $40 million to transform the Bowen Choice Neighborhood (BCN). The check presentation was preceded by a guided bus tour of the BCN footprint with stops throughout the surrounding neighborhood, the Brownfields remediation site, and local businesses. This federal grant will catalyze hundreds of millions of dollars for the Bowen Homes community.


“I am so excited to see Atlanta get this Choice Neighborhoods award,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The City of Atlanta and [Atlanta Housing] have demonstrated their commitment to neighborhood revitalization, having undergone a comprehensive planning effort to redevelop Bowen Homes and the entire Bowen area. The whole-of-government approach to neighborhood revitalization is what leads to impactful changes in the neighborhoods that need it the most.”

The CN program is consistent with the Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ vision for neighborhood revitalization and is part of the West Hollowell segment of the Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway transformational corridor initiative. AH has been working with the mayor’s office to develop strategies and focus resources in three areas consistent with the grant requirements: Housing, People, Neighborhood.


The Housing strategy supports the redevelopment of the former Bowen Homes site, with more than $300 million allocated for housing. The People strategy focuses on developing programs that will improve health, education and economic outcomes for former Bowen residents and the BCN community. The program leverages partnerships and resources with the Boys and Girls Club, Communities in Schools, Families First, Ga Tech CEISM, Goodwill of North Georgia, Grady Health System, Morehouse School of Medicine, Quality Care for Children, United Way, Urban League, Westside Works (CareerRise) and YMCA. Total funding for the People strategy is $42 million. The Neighborhood strategy focuses on residential and commercial blight removal, neighborhood housing development, acquisition and clean-up of contaminated properties, and public safety, with a budget of more than $200 million.


“This Choice Neighborhood grant will be transformational for the Bowen Choice Neighborhood and will leverage hundreds of millions in public and private resources to create new affordable housing, improve neighborhood amenities and provide new opportunities for current and former residents,” said Eugene E. Jones, Jr., president and CEO of Atlanta Housing. “Today is a great day.”

This is the second Choice Neighborhoods Grant awarded to AH and the City of Atlanta.

ABOUT ATLANTA HOUSING

Led by President and CEO Eugene Jones, Jr., the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), is the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation. AH provides and facilitates affordable housing resources for nearly 27,000 low-income households comprised of approximately 45,000 people, including AH-owned residential communities, tenant-based vouchers, supportive housing, and homeownership opportunities. Programs are funded and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.




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Storytelling & Memory of Place

Bowen Homes Resident Storytelling Project




How to Participate in this Forum

If you are a former Bowen Homes resident, please share a special story with us! These could include historical or important events, places you would spend time with friends and family, stories about notable individuals who lived in Bowen Homes, and anything else you remember about the community! Some example questions you could answer are:

  • What would you say was a strength of Bowen Homes?
  • Is there something about Bowen Homes you would like to see the future development celebrate or preserve?
  • Are there any facts about Bowen Homes you would like to share, or misconceptions you would like corrected?
  • What was it like at Bowen Homes when you lived there?




Oral Storytelling

Do you prefer to talk with someone about your experiences? We will be running an oral storytelling project in Spring 2022. Please email us at bowenchoiceneighborhood@atlantahousing.org to sign-up. 

You can also attend our in-person January Community Workshop to sign-up! We will contact you with some scheduling options then record our conversations by video, to assemble a Bowen Homes Storytelling collection. 






What We've Heard So Far

At our October Return to Community event, we spoke with many former residents who told us about their experiences at Bowen Homes. Some frequent themes, shown in the map below, were:

  • Chivers Street is where people gathered the most often, with Walden Street being the secondary location for gathering.
  • The street names are really important to keep in the future redevelopment.
  • The building orientation with the courtyards made gathering with neighbors easy.
  • The 1980 daycare explosion is important to honor and memorialized in the redevelopment.
  • Residents loved the firefighters at Fire Station #38.



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Page last updated: 23 Aug 2023, 08:44 AM