There are two major developments coming to Atlanta's westside soon, and both will greatly impact the surrounding community.
Westside Park
This $44 million park is expected to open in phases beginning this summer, and will eventually become a 280-acre urban greenspace. Westside Park has been in the works for 15 years now, and will be the largest public park Atlanta has ever seen, surpassing Piedmont Park in size by at least 100 acres. The park will stretch from the Bankhead MARTA station all the way up to Northwest Atlanta, and is expected to become one of the biggest attractions in the Southeast. The park will reportedly include playgrounds, bike trails, and a breathtaking view of the city's skyline.
Microsoft
Microsoft has purchased about 90 acres of land on Atlanta's westside, as they plan to build a massive campus in the area soon. The tech giant plans to make Atlanta its East Coast hub, and says its new campus will revitalize Grove Park and the areas around the Bankhead MARTA station. Microsoft was attracted to Atlanta because of the steady supply of tech talent from Georgia Tech and the AUC.
So what does this mean for Westside residents?
Their neighborhoods are about to completely change. Grove Park homeowners have already reported that their property taxes have doubled! The communities surrounding Westside Park are mostly made up of Black, low-income, longtime Atlanta residents. The average income in Grove Park, for example, is between 24 and 30 thousand dollars a year.
Because of the looming skyrocketing of property value, in March, Atlanta City Council passed a bill that requires any new housing complex built in the area, to set aside a certain number of units for low-income residents.
Developers must price at least 15% of their units at rates that are affordable for someone who makes 80% of the area median income, 10% for someone making less than 60% of the area median income; and 5% of units must be affordable for those making 30% of the area median income. The city calculates "affordability" based on the metro-Atlanta median income, which is $82,700 for a family of four.
Several community leaders have spoken out and said that this law is not enough. Ten community members sent an eight-page letter to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms asking for more engagement from the city when it comes to offsetting displacement around Westside Park. They say they won't support the park's opening until more is done.
“We have united around a deep fear that our community is becoming just another repeated instance of the inequitable development and displacement of communities around Atlanta, such as the Old Fourth Ward, Kirkwood, Summerhill, and East Atlanta Village, and we are fighting that fate tooth and nail,” the letter reads.