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New player wants in on Roswell redevelopment plan
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Roswell wants to redevelop 206 acres in a quadrant that encompasses the east side of South Atlanta Street south of the city municipal complex to Oxbo Road.
The good news is the Roswell Housing Authority, with its 103 public housing units on 14 acres making it the largest single landowner in the district, wants in.
The Housing Authority has hired its own consultant, Richard A. Aiken, principal architect for HADP Architectural Inc.
"The Housing Authority has been looking at plans for our own redevelopment. Now that the city is planning something in the same area, we want to be congruent with what the city is planning," said Housing Authority Chairman Dan Pile. "We quickly realized we were missing an opportunity to collaborate with the city. We have a leadership that is passionate for change and who want to create something significant."
Pile and the Housing Authority Board of Directors met with the City Council at an April 13 workshop to establish a basis for working together and not at cross-purposes. In any gathering of stakeholders, the Housing Authority wants to be at the table.
The Housing Authority comes under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It provides residences for the elderly, the disabled and others who qualify under HUD guidelines.
Roswell Councilman Rich Dippolito said the area is not only the "missing piece" for the redevelopment of the city's center, it has one of the best road grids in downtown. One of the great challenges for the city has been to provide more connectivity for motorists and pedestrians.
The area the city is calling the Arts Village has a road grid in place. It is also within easy walking distance of a portion of the National Park Service's Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. It would be a natural area for both recreation and pedestrian use.
But the city wants to avoid stepping on toes. In addition to the Housing Authority, the area is the home of a long-established Afro-American community, two churches, the Grove Way Community Center and several non-profit agencies.
"We all want something good to come from this," said Mayor Jere Wood. "We need to bring all of these folks in from the beginning."
Wood said he thought the area had the potential to become "the best neighborhood in Roswell." The mayor also wants to create a trail along Hog Wallow Creek to link up to the National Parks Service land.
Dippolito agreed the trail was a good idea, linking to what will ultimately be a citywide trail system.
"One of the exciting things about this area is integrating so many potential good points for the city," Dippolito said.
Housing Authority units could be dispersed in the neighborhood. It is what HUD calls decentralization, or mixing various types of housing and income patterns throughout a community, said Aiken.
Pile said he could see the Housing Authority leasing its 14 acres, then using the funds to sustain itself. Its residents would be dispersed in the larger Arts Village community that would give the area a blended culture and make it a more desirable place to live.
"It could be a community that would attract lots of people," Wood said.
The first meeting of stakeholders is to take place April 21 (after this issue's deadline). Ultimately, they will be asked to agree on some design guidelines and a vision for the area. Then in the summer, the city — with the help of the Atlanta Regional Commission — will conduct a cherrette to map out a plan of action.
Tags: Roswell, Roswell City Council
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