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Council approves abandonment of portion of Wilkes Circle to support Bowen Homes redevelopment
Summary
The Transportation Committee voted 6–0 to approve an ordinance transferring a portion of public right‑of‑way around the Bowen Homes site to facilitate redevelopment financed in part by a $40 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant.
The Atlanta City Council Transportation Committee voted 6–0 on Jan. 15 to approve an ordinance authorizing the city to abandon a portion of Wilkes Circle and related rights of way adjacent to the Bowen Homes site and to accept an in‑kind donation of reconfigured street improvements from Atlanta Housing.
The ordinance — introduced as Item 124‑01661 — authorizes the mayor or designee to execute a quitclaim deed conveying the abandoned roadway and waives appraisal requirements in section 138‑9 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances for this transaction. The caption describes the abandoned area as approximately 95,280 square feet and says the quitclaim deed will be executed to the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta.
Why it matters: Atlanta Housing is redeveloping the former Bowen Homes site, a 74‑acre parcel in Council District 9, under a HUD Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant that the agency said totals $40,000,000 and leverages other public and private funding. Atlanta Housing representatives told the committee that phase 1 closed financially Dec. 19, 2024, and will create 151 rental units, about 70% of which the presenter said will be offered at affordable rents.
What officials said
Maya Hodari, senior vice president for planning and development at Atlanta Housing, described Bowen Homes as a vacant, former public‑housing site in the Brookview neighborhood and summarized the Choice Neighborhoods grant and the phase‑1 closing. “After receiving the award in July of 2023, Atlanta Housing with the City of Atlanta and our selected development team … began site planning and assembling the financing,” Hodari said.
A second Atlanta Housing speaker (listed on the sign‑in sheet as Ms. Means) explained the in‑kind donation: Atlanta Housing will reconfigure the internal street grid and complete street improvements (sidewalks, stormwater, tree canopy and green infrastructure) to support phases 1 and 2 and then convey those improvements to the city. Means told the committee the portion of Wilkes Circle proposed for abandonment is currently fenced and not publicly accessible because the Bowen site has been closed since demolition.
Public process and votes
The committee voted 6–0 to open the public hearing on the ordinance, heard a brief presentation from Atlanta Housing and closed the public hearing. A motion to adopt the ordinance passed 6–0.
Clarifying details
- Bowen Homes site size: 74 acres (as stated by Atlanta Housing). - HUD Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant: $40,000,000 (as stated by Atlanta Housing). - Phase 1 financial closing: Dec. 19, 2024; phase 1 will create 151 rental units with roughly 70% affordable set‑aside (as stated by Atlanta Housing). - Abandonment area: described in the legislation as about 95,280 square feet (caption language).
What’s next
Atlanta Housing said street improvements for the reconfigured grid will begin in January 2025 to support construction on phases 1 and 2. The committee’s favorable report sends the ordinance forward under the legislative process described in the caption.
