Makeda Johnson has lived in Vine City for more than 20 years. She said loans from the Vine City Trust Fund should serve the Westside neighborhood’s current residents first.
Stephannie Stokes / WABE
There’s been a lot of talk about preventing displacement as the city and nonprofits work to revitalize Atlanta’s Westside. But some in the community worry that talk isn’t reflected in the projects that are getting public backing.
At the edge of Vine City, Makeda Johnson stands looking at a vacant, overgrown lot. Trees and tall grass sprout up from the space.
Johnson remembers when there were still houses on the land. She’s lived in this west Atlanta neighborhood for more than 20 years.
“So I’ve seen some good days, and I’ve seen some bad days,” Johnson said. “But these are some of the most challenging days that I’ve seen.”
They’re challenging for her because of projects like the one planned for this block. The city’s development arm, Invest Atlanta, gave a developer a $1 million loan to build 15 new townhomes here.
Fifteen new townhomes are planned for this block in Vine City. (Stephannie Stokes/WABE)
Two of the homes in the development will be priced so that households making 80 percent of the area median income can afford them. For a family of four, that’s about $50,000.
But Johnson said the project isn’t going to help most people in these neighborhoods who make far less than that. They need housing affordable for 30 to 50 percent of the area median income.
“It doesn’t make sense to use public dollars for a project that doesn’t meet the critical need of the community,” she said.
The project was one of two that recently received support from the Vine City Trust Fund, a loan program set up during the construction of the Georgia Dome. Another $500,000 is supporting the construction of five homes in a similar price range.
Invest Atlanta President Eloisa Klementich’s said the developments are part of the agency’s broader plan for the Westside.
“What we’ve been trying to figure out is how do we provide a spectrum of choices,” she said
Klementich said that means creating opportunities for homeownership, while also bringing new rental units to the area. She said the goal is to reach a range of income levels.
And as for projects like the 15 new townhomes, Klementich said Invest Atlanta was the developers’ only option when it came to getting a loan.
“This is an unproven market right now,” she said. “Some banks are still leery about investing on the Westside.”
The developers will have to repay the low-interest loans once their homes sell. At that point, the money will go back into the trust fund. It currently holds about $3 million.
Johnson, however, still disagrees with that use of Invest Atlanta’s loan dollars. She said loans from the Vine City Trust Fund should serve the neighborhood’s existing residents first.
“The community has stated what it needs,” she said. “Why are they not listening?”
Note: A previous version of this story misspelled Eloisa Klementich’s name. It has been corrected.
