A multifunctional Bankhead housing and support-facility development designed to spur lasting improvements in underserved Westside neighborhoods is officially underway.
Punctuated by contemporary design with archways, curving walls, and an abundance of windows, the latest concept from nonprofit organization City of Refuge calls for a broad range of uses in a three-story, 38,000-square-foot building named the Transformation Center.
City of Refuge officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $15.2-million project this week at 1343 Joseph E. Boone Blvd, a former American Legion lot.
The site is due south of Westside Park and adjacent to The 345 project—a remake of the abandoned, 1950s Danzig Hotel—that City of Refuge opened last year as 31 units of supportive housing for men. Officials say it’s just a two-minute walk from City of Refuge’s Westside campus, which is considered the headquarters of several satellite campuses across the country.
Development plans call for 25 units of affordable housing geared toward legacy residents, with 13 of those reserved for renters earning 30 percent of the area median income or less.
Expect a mix of two and three-bedroom apartments, with one four-bedroom unit in the mix.
Scenes from this week's groundbreaking ceremony with City of Refuge's The 345 project in the background. Courtesy of City of Refuge
Courtesy of City of Refuge
On the least expensive end, the 13 units planned to rent at 30 percent AMI would go for between $689 for a two-bedroom option (826 square feet) and $796 monthly for three-bedrooms (up to 1,343 square feet), according to Invest Atlanta.
The building, as designed by Rickman Architecture + Design, would also see 7,640 square feet of commercial and amenity space at the ground level.
Plans call for a market or grocery store, a social club, a medical and mental health clinic, and a credit union included at the building’s base level. Another planned component is the Entrepreneurship Hub, which will offer classrooms, offices, and a lab in hopes of training 100 budding entrepreneurs per year as a means of economic stimulus on the Westside.
Beyond the commercial portion, amenities would include a community room, washer and dryer connections, and an outdoor sitting space.
The project’s goal is to fill gaps in wellness, economic, and health services in Bankhead and surrounding neighborhoods. According to City of Refuge CEO and founder Bruce Deel, the agency has served more than 35,000 people across 25 years of operations on Atlanta’s Westside.
Earlier plans for the three-level project's unique facade, which have been revised. City of Refuge; Rickman Architecture + Design
Courtesy of City of Refuge
A significant portion of funding is being sourced from donations, including $3 million from the Chick-fil-A Foundation and $2 million from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and TogetherATL to help build affordable housing. The project also received a $3 million federal New Market Tax Credit through Atlanta Emerging Markets and Capital One.
Invest Atlanta has also approved $2 million in funding in the form of a BeltLine TAD Increment Improvement Grant.
The Transformation Center is considered the main objective of City of Refuge’s “Breaking Barriers. Building Momentum.” capital campaign, which launched in late 2022 and soon eclipsed its $25 million goal.
Courtesy of City of Refuge
The site in relation to Westside Park and Midtown. Google Maps
The project's construction schedule calls for opening in fall 2025.
City of Refuge’s first Atlanta project, a rental community called The 1300, finished in summer 2020.
Alongside GROWTH Homes, the agency also recently built five new standalone houses for families adjacent to its Joseph E. Boone Boulevard campus, with prices starting at $279,000.
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