Copied from my Community Site- we need your help!: Dear neighbors, I wanted to start a new thread in hopes that as many people on this group as possible see it. As Chad has brought to light in his thread the City of Atlanta had intentions of relocating 75 people from the Peachtree & Pine shelter to the old Fire Station 17 building at the intersection of RDA & Cascade. In the meanwhile the old Fire Station 17 building was already under contract for several weeks with a developer who had intentions of renovating the historic building and exploring options to bring a restaurant or similar business to the location. The Westview Community Organizations Executive Committee had put together an official letter last week that was emailed to members of City Council and employees in the Mayors office (emails listed in Chads other post). Following the payment of the water bill the WCOs EC had hoped the matter may have resolved itself; however, it appears the option of opening a 75 person shelter at the old Fire Station 17 is not off the table yet, and I appreciate Chad brining this topic back to light so that more people can be made aware of it. At Mondays Westview Community Organization meeting we will have discussion about this matter, so we encourage you to attend. In the meanwhile, the WCO Executive Committees main points of concern are reflected in the official letter below: ---- I am writing to express my concern about the sale of old Fire Station 17 not moving forward. As a community we find it unconscionable that the city would discourage private commercial investment in our community by preventing this sale. Our residents have worked tirelessly for years to attract investors with a vision to our area. If this sale is prevented, this is a missed opportunity to spur economic development in Westview and Southwest Atlanta. The city has acknowledged that housing and economic development is not evenly distributed in Atlanta. Invest Atlanta recently shared data that shows subsidized housing is clustered near the City center and west resulting in households with vouchers . . . concentrated in southern neighborhoods. In addition, most of the jobs and economic opportunities in Atlanta are located in the northeast quadrant of the city, furthest away from the affordable housing of Southwest Atlanta. (Invest Atlanta, Affordable Housing Work Session, Atlanta City Hall, Atlanta, GA. 17 Sep 2014. Presentation.) These conditions result in concentrated poverty, blight, and an overall depressed economic condition in our neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods. Therefore our community has many persons who are in need, including those who are homeless, hungry, and living in poverty. Our community organization works to meet the needs of all of our community members. We have a youth program that supports children and their families, our community garden provides free food for residents, we recently began partnering with a local church to feed hungry persons in the community, and we often make private donations of time, money or food to support our neighbors when they are in need. We continue to work tirelessly to improve the conditions in our neighborhood as we deal with these realities every day. It is our expectation that the City of Atlanta would use its resources and influence to do the same. That is why we were hopeful when the city decided to sell old Fire Station 17, a fire house that has been out of service since 1976; it signaled a much needed opportunity for economic development in one of the neighborhood’s heavily-trafficked commercial nodes. Chris Carter with Vantage Realty Partners submitted the highest bid and simultaneously started a conversation with the community about the possible uses for the fire station. The goal was to create a unique space that would act as a community asset – offices for locally owned businesses upstairs and potentially a coffee shop, organic market or restaurant on the ground floor. This past Monday Mr. Carter was told by John Lavelle the city was returning his deposit and for the time canceling the deal. Mr. Carter then received a letter stating “the city has recognized a perceived need for the subject property that would prevent its sale in the near future.” This perceived need turned out to be the relocation of women and children from the Peachtree-Pine shelter in Midtown. Again, our objection to the continued use of old Fire Station 17 as a shelter is in no way related to having persons in need in our neighborhood. We support safe, stable housing for all people. We are empathetic for the need to resolve the Peachtree-Pine shelter crisis, but our community cannot continue to absorb the citys neediest residents without strategic, consistent investment ensuring our communities have the resources we need. Relocating the women and children of Peachtree-Pine away from an area with employment opportunities to one that is already economically depressed is not a viable solution. Atlantas inability to accomplish equitable development across the city is a well-known problem. However, this is an opportunity where the city can directly lead the way by encouraging reinvestment in our neighborhood with the sale of old Fire Station 17. We are strongly urging the Mayor to reconsider this direction. We request a meeting with the City of Atlanta to discuss other viable solutions to the Peachtree-Pine shelter crisis and learn more about the City’s strategy for development in our southwest community. ---- If you agree with the sentiments of the WCOs Executive Committee please feel free to copy and paste the official letter and send it to the following people (City Council and Mayors office): [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:39:52 +0000
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