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MAY 2007
Georgia Tech GIS study reveals available land
Peachtree: Home for everyone?
SouthStar CDC, partners breathe life into
Moreland Avenue Corridor
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Audrey Jordan
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CDC SPOTLIGHT
SouthStar and partners breathe life into Moreland Ave Corridor
Thanks to the renewed effort of SouthStar Community Development
Corporation and its partnering organizations, the south Moreland
Avenue corridor redevelopment plan is closer to becoming a reality.
Nearly eight years ago SouthStar CDC convened a group of
neighborhood organizations to discuss the possibility of a major
redevelopment effort on Moreland Avenue - south of I-20.
Organizations such as South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development
(SAND), East Atlanta Community Association (EACA), East Atlanta
Business Association (EABA), and Eastland/Skyhaven Community
Association (ESCA) joined SouthStar CDC in a thorough process of
community visioning and neighborhood planning. The result was a
master development plan for Moreland Avenue from I-20 to Custer
Avenue.
The plan divides the 2.1 miles of Moreland Avenue into three
distinct segments – East Atlanta Village Study Area (I-20 to
Portland Avenue), Central Residential Study Area (Portland Avenue to
south of Burns Street) and the Southern Commercial Study Area (Burns
Street to Custer Avenue). Among the development’s challenges is its
location; the corridor sits between three jurisdictional entities
and a portion serves as the boundary between Atlanta City Council
Districts 1 and 5. But those in these Southeast Atlanta communities
are undaunted by these and other challenges. For several years,
community leaders have been behind the scenes working to increase
support for the plan.
Working with Urban Collage, Inc and URS, SouthStar CDC and its
partnering organizations revised the Moreland Avenue Corridor Master
Plan in late 2005. Since this time, the organization has garnered
the much needed attention and support of the City’s Bureau of
Planning and a $95,000 planning grant from Atlanta Regional
Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) – and another $30,000
in matching funds from Atlanta City Councilmembers Natalyn Archibong
and Carla Smith.
With Moreland Avenue development north of I-20 well underway, many
are excited to see the momentum move south. The East Atlanta Village
area has already experienced redevelopment, with a thriving
neighborhood commercial district enhanced by recent streetscape
improvements, also driven by SouthStar CDC. With substantial amounts
of new and existing housing nearby, the Southern Commercial area
includes some of the largest tracts of under- or undeveloped land in
southeast Atlanta – creating a prime opportunity for commercial
growth.
“Increased support from the City’s planning staff as well as a
planning grant from LCI will do much to move the Moreland Avenue
Corridor Master Plan forward,” explained Kevin Lynch, President of
SouthStar CDC. “Our focus is now on the effort needed to get the
plan formally incorporated into the Comprehensive Development Plan.”
SouthStar CDC is committed to Moreland Avenue corridor development
and views the massive undertaking as central to its mission to
stimulate economic and community development while enhancing the
lives of those in Southeast Atlanta.
"With thoughtful planning, the south Moreland corridor can become an
enhancement to the quality of life for southeast Atlanta's diverse
stakeholders," said Lynch, "while simultaneously offering excellent
economic development opportunities to accommodate residential and
commercial growth and workforce development."
For more information about the Moreland Avenue Corridor development
or the work of SouthStar CDC, visit their website at
www.southstarcdc.org.
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