Sunday, November 04, 2007
News
A face-lift for the Old Fourth Ward
Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood has an important place in black history
City Councilman Kwanza Hall (right) looks at a map of the Old Fourth Ward during a planning meeting with residents and business owners.
CREDIT: City of Atlanta
By Gillian Boyce
Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood has an important place in black history. It is the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and home to the famous Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King preached his message of social change. It’s one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.
In the 1960s the Old Fourth Ward, which is bordered to the north by Ponce de Leon Avenue, to the south by De Kalb Avenue and to the east and west by the proposed Beltline Rail Corridor and Piedmont Avenue, was a thriving commercial and residential district with a population of more than 22,000. Between 1960 and 1980, the population dwindled to about 6,000, with many businesses leaving the area and several middle-class residents relocating to the suburbs.
Today, despite rampant gentrification all around it and the remaking of the Ponce corridor, the neighborhood is still a shadow of what it once was. When drugs moved into the neighborhood, it changed, says Lydia Meredith, who runs the nonprofit organization Beacon of Hope, which partners with Tabernacle Baptist Church to provide educational, family support services and community development in Old Fourth Ward and surrounding communities.
Residents say the biggest problem right now is cleaning up the area known as the Boulevard corridor, the area’s main thoroughfare, which has become a haven for drug dealers and prostitution.
“That [Boulevard] is the jugular vein of Fourth Ward,” says Meredith, who has been an activist in the community for 14 years. “What concerns me most are the younger citizens that live there. The community is not safe.”
Meredith says she hopes to see Boulevard’s children gain access to the parks and public facilities that are now occupied by homeless people and drug dealers.
And she may finally be getting some help.
On Oct. 24, City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who represents the area, and officials from the city department of planning and community development unveiled the new and improved Old Fourth Ward Master Plan at City Hall.
In the first of six scheduled public meetings, residents and business owners were given the opportunity to provide input into the process of developing the Old Fourth Ward of the future. City officials had expected only about 100 residents to show up, but twice that many turned out.
“I was thrilled by the strong public turnout for this kickoff meeting,” says Hall. “We’re going to carry this enthusiasm forward into all our community meetings.”
Hall has identified five key proposals he calls “catalytic projects” that have the potential to transform the neighborhood.
Planned projects underway include the redevelopment of City Hall East and the creation of the Historic Fourth Ward Park along North Avenue; the redevelopment of the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on Piedmont Avenue; the transition of Bedford Pines properties in the Boulevard corridor to a denser mixed-income and mixed-use community’ transforming Central and Renaissance Parks; and the continuing improvements of Auburn Avenue and the Martin Luther King Historical District.
The plan’s centerpiece is the Beltline, and it includes accommodation for how the planned light-rail “necklace” around the city will integrate with the neighborhood transportation infrastructure, land use and open space.
The purpose of these meetings is to figure out what can be done to encourage a sustainable mix of housing, employment, business and green space, and to encourage smart growth and redevelopment while protecting the neighborhood’s existing character, businesses, residents and historical sites.
“This is a great start to the community-based planning process,” says Hall. “I am grateful to the neighborhood leaders, in particular, who ensured a strong turnout from folks who live in the Old Fourth Ward.”
Planning activities should conclude in the spring of 2008. And so far, for development in Atlanta, the reception seems to be unusually positive.
“I think what’s going on is wonderful, insightful and needed in the neighborhood,” says Meredith. “This is something that should have been done a long time ago.” SP