Vacant tower's conversion to transit-friendly rentals has finished

Following two years of construction, a $24-million tower renovation that adds lower-priced rentals near East Point’s transit station, restaurants, and shops has officially delivered.

East Point city officials have scheduled a ribbon-cutting, mural dedication, and grand opening Tuesday morning for the Aya Tower, a formerly vacant, nine-story eyesore that’s been turned into an affordable housing venture with a towering mural paying homage to a former East Point mayor.

National housing developer The Vecino Group and the East Point Housing Authority partnered on the 88-unit project (formerly the Nelms House building), which officials say offers exclusively affordable housing with one and two-bedroom rentals a few blocks north of MARTA’s East Point station.

Amenities include Atlanta skyline views from some units, plus a fitness center, business center, a community room with shuffleboard, and unique support services.

Prior to Aya’s groundbreaking in early 2022, the tower had stood vacant since 2004.

One-bedroom rental options at Aya range between 426 and 456 square feet. The two-bedroom apartments, meanwhile, are either 700 or 738 square feet. Aya’s rental rates have not been published online; we’ve asked project officials for more information and will update this post with any that comes.

Developers have previously said rents will be capped at 40 to 60 percent of the area’s average median income. According to a project announcement, move-ins have begun, and all apartments are reserved for families earning between $30,000 and $40,000 annually.

The tower will also offer access to health and social services administered by Grady Health and Goodwill Industries in adjacent buildings, per project leaders.

The “Aya” name refers to a symbol representing strength and endurance in the ancient Adinkra alphabet of West Africa.

Easily viewed from passing MARTA trains, the seven-story mural on the building’s east face honors former East Point Mayor Patsy Jo Hilliard, who made history in 1993 by being elected East Point’s first female and Black mayor—and the first Black woman to hold that office in Georgia history. She remains East Point’s longest-tenured mayor to date.

Developers commissioned Atlanta artist Erica Chisolm to hand-paint the mural, which includes Adinkra symbols, a portrait of Hilliard, and the former mayor’s favorite saying, “Be True To Thyself.” Living Walls, a local art collective that specializes in large-scale public art with cultural inspirations, also contributed.

Living Walls reps have told Urbanize Atlanta the painting, which overlooks Main Street and Tri-Cities High School, spans 51 by 47 feet, or 2,397 square feet, starting above the brick portion of the revitalized building.

A lifelong educator like her late husband, Asa Hilliard, Mayor Hilliard served in East Point between 1993 and 2006. She’s credited with revitalizing East Point’s public library and fostering growth with civic and business leaders.

The Aya Tower redevelopment has been hailed as an investment that could continue—or help spark—projects that make downtown East Point more walkable, vibrant, and inclusive.

About two blocks from the tower site, East Point officials unveiled plans in late 2021 for a 9-acre, mixed-use project, The Commons. That $111-million proposal has been called a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to inject equitable development into the heart of downtown, but it has yet to break ground.

Directly across the MARTA tracks, on a site linked to downtown via the city’s pedestrian bridge, a Kairos Development Corporation proposal called East Point Exchange envisions 21 acres of apartments, greenspaces, and retail meshed with landmark buildings. That project was announced more than three years ago. Its website remains active, but it also has yet to break ground.

For more Aya Tower context and images, head up to the galley.

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