In 1994 theAtlanta Housing Authority, encouraged by the federalHOPE VI program, embarked on a policy created for the purpose of comprehensive revitalization of severely distressed public housing developments. These distressed public housing properties were replaced bymixed-income communities.[1]
State Capitol Homes (aka "Capitol Homes") was completed on April 7, 1941 and designed to serve black families in low-rise housing.[2] The 694 units demolished in 2003 were replaced by Capitol Gateway, which includes 1,000 units of housing for various income levels.[3]
The Carver Community housing project (aka "Carver Homes") in southeast Atlanta was finished on February 17, 1953,[2] costing $8.6 million and consisting of 990 units for African-Americans.[4] Named for George Washington Carver, the project was located nearJoyland, an amusement park for Black Atlanta residents. The project was demolished in 2000 and was partially replaced with the Villages at Carver.[5]
John J. Eagan Homes, also known as Eagan Homes, as a 677-unit complex built in 1941 for black families. It cost $2 million to build and was located inVine City.[4] The complex was torn down in the 2000s and replaced by Magnolia Park.[6]
The East Lake Meadows public housing project was a 654 unit community built in 1971 and was one of the most infamous of all of Atlanta's public housing.[7] At the time the nation's largestturnkey project,[8] East Lake Meadows was immediately plagued by maintenance problems due to poor construction.[7] Crime rates soared, and reporter Bill Seldon for theAtlanta Constitution highlighted the project in a series of articles comparing the high number of killings in Atlanta to Vietnam. These articles led to East Lake Meadows gaining the nickname of "Little Vietnam", and helped contribute to the turning of public opinion against public housing.[7]
In the 1990s, as part ofhis efforts to revitalize the East Lake neighborhood, developer and philanthropistTom Cousins began working with the Atlanta Housing Authority to replace East Lake Meadows with a mixed-income community.[9] This took place ina larger context of tearing down Atlanta's public housing. In addition to mixed-income housing units, the redevelopment plan included an education center, a private golf course, and various local amenities.[10] Over the course of ten years, East Lake Meadows was demolished and replaced with The Villages at East Lake, the total project costing $172 million.[10]
Completed in 1942,[2] Henry Grady Homes (aka "Grady Homes") originally contained 495 units for black families.[4] Located in theSweet Auburn neighborhood, it was demolished and replaced with the Auburn Pointe mixed-income community.[11]
Built in 1957,[2] Joel Chandler Harris Homes (aka "Harris Homes") was a 510 unit housing site and the last project built that was intended for white residents before the housing projects were integrated after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act in 1964.[12] It was replaced by Ashley Collegetown.[13] The adjacent John O. Chiles Senior Residence Building was renovated.[14]
Built adjacent to University Homes in 1941,[2] John Hope Homes 606 units was originally built for black families.[4] In the 2000s, it was demolished and replaced withThe Villages at Castleberry Hill.[15]
The McDaniel Glenn housing project was built in 1967, with the Martin Luther King Memorial Building (a highrise for the elderly) constructed in 1970. Making the complex peak at 768 units Part of theMechanicsville neighborhood, the complex was demolished in 2006.[16] By 2007, Columbia Residential had completed their redevelopment of the property, named Columbia at Mechanicsville Station.[17] The Martin Luther King High-Rise was demolished with explosives on February 14, 2010.
Herman E. Perry Homes (aka "Perry Homes") was completed in 1954 with 1,100 units for black families.[2][12][18] Part of the project was destroyed by a tornado on March 24, 1975, with the buildings being replaced in 1976–77.[18] The project's demolition was completed in 1999,[19] and it was replaced with the West Highlands development.[20]
Techwood Homes was the first federally funded public housing project in the United States, with 1,230 units opening in 1936.[4] Located in theCentennial Hill district ofDowntown Atlanta, it was joined by Clark Howell Homes (both all white) in 1940.[4] In the run-up to the 1996 Olympics, Techwood and Clark Howell Homes were demolished and replaced by Centennial Place.[21][22]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2025) |
Built in 1938 on the site of the formerBeaver Slide slum. Seen as the African American counterpart toTechwood Homes - the first public housing project in the nation. ArchitectWilliam Augustus Edwards. Residents of the deteriorating community were relocated in 2006, with 500 units being demolished in 2009. In September 2015, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to revitalize the former University Homes public housing site, along with the Atlanta University Center, Ashview Heights, and the Vine City neighborhoods. The"University Choice Neighborhood" housing plan renamed University Homes to "Scholars Landing." Construction will be complete in 2023.
Senior citizen highrise built 1965. ArchitectJohn C. Portman Jr. who designed numerous high-rises inDowntown Atlanta (such asAmericasMart,Peachtree Center, andHyatt Regency Atlanta). This was one of Portman's earliest and most influential projects, his first atrium building and only public housing project.[23] It was located at 126 SE Hilliard St. SE, Downtown, and was demolished 2009, including annex. Portman attempted to prevent the building from being demolished, but was unsuccessful.[citation needed]
Bankhead Courts was built in 1970 and consisted of 550 housing units. As of January 2011[update], "demolition was underway".[24]
Bowen Homes was a large multifamily housing project built in northwest Atlanta in 1964.[2] Named afterJohn W. E. Bowen, Sr.,[25][26] it included 650 units in a sprawling complex of 104 yellow brick residence buildings,A.D. Williams elementary school, a library, and a day care center. Most inaugural residents were relocated fromButtermilk Bottom in the Old Fourth Ward.[27] Located on Bankhead Highway (since renamed Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway) just insideI-285, the site is now classified as part of the neighborhood of Brookview Heights.
On October 13, 1980 a furnaceboiler exploded at the day care center, killing four children and a teacher. Some residents initially claimed the blast was related to theAtlanta child murders of 1979–1981, but it turned out that the boiler's water had been drained for maintenance at the end of the previous heating season but had not been refilled. On October 13 the cool weather of autumn returned, the day care center requested that the heat be turned on, and maintenance staff relit the boiler, not realizing it was empty. This caused a boiler explosion thirty minutes later. In 1982, theAtlanta Housing Authority (AHA) settled out-of-court for $800,000 with ten families seeking damages.[citation needed]
RapperShawty Lo was raised in Bowen Homes. He created a mixtape calledBowen Homes Carlos dedicated to the housing project. Bowen Homes was also featured in rapperT.I.'s videoWhat Up, What's Haapnin'. Other musical groups from Bowen Homes include Shop Boyz[28] and Hood Rock.[29] BoxerEvander Holyfield grew up in Bowen.[30]
Bowen Homes was rife with crime. Police reports show 168 violent crimes in the six months between June 2007 and January 2008, including five murders. It was the last large AHA housing project left when it was demolished in 2009. Its razing made Atlanta the first major municipality in the U.S.A. to do so, and its demolition brought the city's era of large multifamily housing projects to a close.[31][32]
Built in 1970, 324 units of Englewood manor were demolished 2009 by the AHA. The land, which has been under control of the AHA since it was developed in 1970, still sits empty as of 2024[update].
Forest Cove was torn down in 2024. It was not a housing project. It was privately owned.[33][34]
Gilbert Gardens, also known as Poole Creek, was built in the 1960s and torn down in 2004. 226 unit housing projects were demolished and families were displaced.[citation needed]
Alonzo F. Herndon Homes, also known as Herndon Homes, was completed in 1941, containing 520 units for African Americans. It was demolished in 2010.[35] The project was named forAlonzo F. Herndon, who was born a slave, and through founding theAtlanta Life Insurance Company became Atlanta's richest African American.[36][37] On June 15, 2016, the Atlanta Housing Authority announced a development team had been selected to create a mixed-use mixed-income community, called Herndon Square, on the site.[38] The first of five phases began construction in January 2020,[39] and is scheduled to complete in Spring 2021.[needs update]
Herndon Homes was a filming location for the motion pictureThe Lottery Ticket.
As of January 2011[update], the demolition of the 202 public housing units "was almost complete".[24]
145 units were torn down in 2008.[40]
160 units were torn down in 2008.[40] RapperYoung Thug was raised in Jonesboro South Apartments.
225 units were torn down in 2008.[41]
Palmer House was a senior citizen highrise. Built in 1966, it was named afterCharles Forrest Palmer, first president of theAtlanta Housing Authority. It was demolished floor-by-floor in Spring 2011.[42][43]
Roosevelt House was a senior citizen highrise with 150 apartments located at the southwest corner ofCentennial Olympic Park Drive and North Avenue. Built in 1973, it was named afterFranklin Delano Roosevelt, the American president who, with Atlanta developerCharles Forrest Palmer, founded the national public housing policy. The last residents left in 2009, and it was demolished with explosives on February 27, 2011.[42][43]
The Thomasville Heights Projects were built in 1967, with 350 units. They were demolished in 2010.[24]
The U-Rescue Villa was torn down in May 2008.[44]
The 288 apartment units once a part of the Mc Daniel Glenn housing project were cleaned up and turned into a section 8 apartment complex.[citation needed]
The apartment units once were a part of the Eastlake Meadows housing project but the Atlanta Housing Authority decided to keep the units and turn them intoSection 8 housing.[citation needed]
The Edgewood Court housing project, built in 1950, is a Section 8 housing project with 204 available units.[45]
Martin Street Plaza, inSummerhill, also known as the Summerhill Projects, built in 1979 continue operating today.[citation needed]
Westminster is a 32 unit public housing community in Atlanta, Georgia.
East Lake Highrise is a 150 unit affordable housing community in Atlanta, East Lake Highrise is owned and managed by the Atlanta Housing Authority also is the last remaining structure of the East lake meadows housing project.
Cosby Spear Highrise is a 282 unit affordable housing community in Atlanta, Georgia. The community is located in the 5th Congressional District of Georgia also the last remaining structure of the U-Rescue Villa housing project.
Hillcrest (demolished) 100 units used to be owned by the Atlanta housing Authority but was sold to the East Point Housing Authority and has sat vacant but undemolished after the East Point Housing Authority (EPHA) failed to give out section 8 applications.
Hidden Village Homes is a 500-unit abandoned housing project once owned by the AHA located 2208 Verbena street, in northwest Atlanta. The complex sits in the Dixie Hill neighborhood. It was abandoned due to fire damage.
John O. Chiles (Harris III) is a 190 unit affordable housing community in Atlanta, Georgia. The community is located in the 5th Congressional neighborhood the last remaining structure of Harris Homes.
Built in 1949, Ed Tucker Memorial Homes (aka “Tucker Homes”) was a 200-unit co-operative housing project designed as a memorial to veterans of Atlanta who gave their lives inWorld War 2. A combined effort between theFHA and the non-profit Veteran's Corporation, it was named for a young B-24 navigator from College Park, Georgia who died in thebattle of Rabaul.
The complex was renovated in 2004 and sold as a private development renamed “The Station at Richmond Hill.”
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