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Old Fourth Ward

• History
• Projects
• Future Projects
• Neighborhood Facts

History

The Old Fourth Ward neighborhood is located east of downtown Atlanta. The neighborhood was once part of one of Atlanta’s premier African-American residential concentrations in the city. A number of prominent leaders settled in the area, including Joseph S. Flipper and William A. Fountain, two A.M.E. Bishops. One of Atlanta’s first African-American real estate brokers, Antoine Graves, who helped find much of the land for black schools, lived in this neighborhood. Martin Luther King Jr. was born at 501 Auburn Avenue in 1929 and he graduated in 1940 from the David T. Howard Grammar School. The neighborhood was also home to the first African American Republican Party official in Georgia, John Wesley Dobbs.

The Old Fourth Ward neighborhood is closely tied to the commercial district directly to its west, Sweet Auburn. This district was a thriving center for black commerce in the 1930’s. The next few decades were characterized by residential development on Atlanta's west side. This ultimately led to the deterioration of the residential base in the Old Fourth Ward. Since 1960, the neighborhood has struggled to remain a viable community. It was severed by the clearance of land for the Freedom Parkway expressway. The residential stability of the neighborhood has also been undermined by the conversion of residential properties into unplanned light industrial and heavy commercial uses, resulting in a decline in population.

Projects

The Old Fourth Ward has many large Victorian homes formerly occupied by leading families, but the main architectural style is shotgun houses. To preserve the cultural, social, and architectural context of the neighborhood, especially the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Landmark District, the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC), a non-profit organization, has focused on the rehabilitation of the existing residential properties and constructing historically “compatible” new houses.

HDDC and local funders (City of Atlanta, ANDP and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, NationsBank CDC, Fannie Mae Foundation), have partnered to construct and rehabilitate housing units in Old Fourth Ward. Leveraging construction loans with grants, HDDC has been able to build approximately 16 new homes and rehabilitate 11 existing homes. The new homes are presently being sold for $70,000 to $125,000. The rehabilitated homes will be predominantly rental properties with a few for sale. HDDC plans to rehabilitate an additional 10 homes on Bradley, Randolph and Old Wheat Streets utilizing funds from the City’s HOME funds and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

HDDC and Progressive Redevelopment Inc. have begun the rehabilitation of 58 multi-family units on Irwin and Grape Streets. Financing was provided by the City of Atlanta and Georgia Housing Finance Authority HOME programs, Federal Home Loan Bank AHP, Tax Credits and the Enterprise Foundation. The Fannie Mae Foundation is currently assisting with rehabilitating two single-family houses on Howell Street. The City’s Housing and Community Development Department (DHCD) has assisted 14 individual homeowners since 1993 in rehabilitating their homes through the HOME and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs since 1993. The grants total $285,300. Using $250,000 in Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) funding from the City’s HOME program, the Old Fourth Ward Inc. has completed the rehabilitation of 2 single-family houses on Angier Avenue, and 3 additional rehabilitations are presently underway on East and Highland Avenues. During 1995, the Urban Residential Finance Authority (URFA) has made two affordable mortgage loans for homebuyers on Wabash Avenue totaling $65,000.

The National Park Service (NPS) has initiated a major action program to expand and enhance facilities within the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. With the assistance of the Trust for Public Land, a property acquisition program has been carried out for housing restoration and infill housing.

With the assistance of the City of Atlanta bond financing, the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta (CODA) has completed several street improvements in the neighborhood to create a safer and more attractive vehicular movement system. The improvements included 130 feet of curb repair, 3,140 feet of sidewalk repair and 8 driveways. The Auburn Avenue Streetscape is the largest and most extensive of the street improvements affecting Old Fourth Ward. Improvements included sidewalk and street repaving, new street furniture, new overhead and pedestrian lighting, historic interpretation markers, and the creation of sequential gathering places along the street. The portion of improvements in the neighborhood stretches from Boulevard to Randolph Street.

Along Freedom Parkway, CODA has created another pedestrian corridor and bikeway. CODA and the City’s Department of Planning were the leading agencies in developing a new park, Freedom Park, in the neighborhood. Financing assistance for the $12 million project was provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, PATH Foundation, Woodruff Foundation, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. The location of Freedom Park is of historic significance since it is located on the site where General Sherman watched the city burn down during the Civil War. The park connects the Carter Center and Downtown Atlanta to the Olmstead Park. Freedom Park provides the residents with convenient access to city-wide recreational services after many years of disruption.

Future Projects

The overall vision for Old Fourth Ward emphasizes the commitment to produce a livable in-town community with a diverse residential population - a community offering housing choices and amenities. Old Fourth Ward’s residential base is the most important asset to the neighborhood, therefore rebuilding and enhancing of the residential fabric are the key to the redevelopment of the neighborhood. The vacant lots that resulted from the 68 demolition permits that were issued, create the opportunity for private construction of new for-sale single-family housing. The Redevelopment Plan, adopted in 1994, programs 275 units of new infill single-family construction.

Continuing their efforts to preserve and construct 'compatible’ new houses, HDDC has proposed to develop the Danneman Project - a new construction and rehabilitation project with four phases. The first phase involves the rehabilitation of 5 single-family and duplex units on Boulevard and McGruder Street. Phase II is an infill house to be developed at 163 Sampson Street. In Phase III, HDDC plans to rehabilitate the existing structures on Boulevard to be used as a Bed and Breakfast. The fourth phase encompasses the reconstruction of 4 to 8 multi-family units on Old Wheat Street. The projected development cost for the multi-family project is between $300,000 and $500,000.

Opportunities for business expansion are associated with the conversion of real estate within the industrial and heavy commercial properties along the historic railroad corridor. Current or future owners of land or loft structures will be offered wide latitude and economic investment incentives for modernization and intensification of uses within the corridor. One such example is the proposed conversion of the 225,000 square foot Auburn Avenue Warehouse into affordable and market rate loft apartments with 71,000 square foot of commercial space by CODA, HDDC, and the Atlanta Cultural Ring Initiative (ACRI). The residential component include 26 single family homes, 35 townhomes and 86 lofts, while a public park, conference center and inn are amongst the proposed land uses included in the commercial component. The projected development cost is $12 million. ANDP has committed some funding. The final package has not yet been secured, however, many have already expressed a willingness to assist.

Other factors that have a favorable influence on the redevelopment opportunities in the Old Fourth Ward are City Hall East, the Carter Presidential Library, Georgia Baptist Hospital and the new Martin Luther King Jr. Visitor’s Center. City Hall East with its massive amount of space represents an opportunity for dramatic adaptive re-use strategy to create marketable, high visibility space through public-private partnership. The complex provides a solid base from which to build skills training, small business/technology incubator facilities and other uses relating to economic revitalization. The Carter Presidential Library and Martin Luther King Jr. Visitors Center draw millions of visitors per year - something that can be capitalized. Presently visitors spend very little money in the district, but the new residential and infrastructure improvements can persuade tourist to spend more time and money in the district.

Old Fourth Ward’s location in the Federal Empowerment Zone, provide prospective developers with the opportunity of qualifying for grants and tax credits associated with this program. Other incentives include impact fee waivers for affordable housing projects, and affordable housing finance assistance through agencies such as URFA and the Downtown Development Authority.

Neighborhood Facts

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