Fort McPherson – 475+ Acres of South Atlanta Hope??

 

What is going on with the Fort McPherson development on Lee Street in south west Atlanta?  Strategically located between the Oakland City and Ft. McPherson/Lakewood MARTA rail stations, this former Army Base was finally beginning to show signs of development four years ago.  That is when Tyler Perry purchased the majority of the property and the remaining (approximately) 145 acres has been slowly planned for community use with community input.

It was beginning to look as if the Oakland City/Ft Mac communities, with an average household income of less than $20,000, were about to get a “good deal”.  Now, the project that includes lots of community input, has come to a halt.

In the Saporta Report, Maria Saporta weighs in and is asking City Hall some really tough questions.  I welcomed the opportunity to add my two cents.  See her article on the link below:

Questions surround future of Fort Mac redevelopment

Be sure to leave your thoughts about what could be the best project for Atlanta residents because 60% of the housing units are slated to be affordable!

 

Good News: Clayton County Expanding to Heavy Rail Transit

After MARTA started over forty plus years ago, Clayton County voted against transit expanding there. As the demographics have changed, so has the obvious need for transit.  Less than 10 years ago, local bus service was started and then stopped leaving many residents stranded.

Then in 2014, a transit ballot initiative passed overwhelming bringing MARTA bus service a few months later connecting it to jobs at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the world’s busiest.  And, it connects Clayton to the rail station in College Park. Now, MARTA is announcing plans to add heavy rail along the Norfolk-Southern rail line that is expected to eventually connect Macon and Savannah. That is exciting news for an area that has fell on hard times in the past decade (before 2014) where transit not being an option made every thing from grocery shopping to doctor visits to attending church to visiting friends and family an expensive, infrequent or impossible for Clayton residents who do not own a car.

In the link to the Atlanta Business Chronicle article below, Maria Saporta gives all of the exciting details.

Commuter rail is MARTA’s choice for Clayton County

By Maria Saporta

https://saportareport.com/commuter-rail-is-martas-choice-for-clayton-county/

 

More on what I think:

While this is great news, many advocates are still working to get Clayton County officials and Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to work together to and much needed sidewalks, crosswalks and so MARTA can add more bus shelters and benches.

It is very challenging to walk in the rain, along a muddy path, or in the street (because the muddy path is too slippery) and then wait for the bus in the driving rain.  Add to that scenario a parent with a child in a stroller, someone with a cain, walker, or in a wheelchair. This are very serious safety issues.  Advocates hope to get these safety items in place before a tragedy or lawsuit mandates them.

Recently, I took a MARTA bus (from Northside Drive near the Stockyards), train (at North Avenue station), and another bus (from the College Park station) to a MARTA focus group meeting in Clayton County, I got off the bus on Tara Boulevard where there were no crosswalks across the busy six-lane intersection, no side walks at the bus stop, or along the 1/3 mile walk to the Clayton Library where the meeting was held.  Walking in the shoes of transit dependent riders will truly open your eyes.  It also exposes  why even more people, those who have a car, choose not to put their safety at risk in taking a bus in these areas.  Hmmm.  I wonder if anyone measures these “potential riders”.

Do you use public transportation?  If not, why not?  If you do, how often?  And, what changes would get you to use it more?

Preservation of U.S. History

In the midst of the national debate about confederate statues, we must take the discussion to new heights here in metro Atlanta.  As an Atlanta native who has lived all over country, it is unfortunate that the other cities valued and preserved their historic structures while Atlanta continues to tear them down without a second thought. Initially I thought it was because there are so many people here from other places that they don’t care??  Yet, at least half of our current City Council members (many have served 2-4 terms or 8-16 years), the Council President and the Mayor are natives.  Hmmm. So, how could this continue to happen on their watch??

A recent column written by metro area writer Maria Saporta, complete with reader comments, asks several other good questions about preserving local Atlanta history.  This history includes the precious home of Grace Towns Hamilton, the first Black woman elected to the Georgia Legislature and daughter of George Alexander Towns; an educator and man my elementary school was named after.

Grace Towns Hamilton in the House Chamber of the Georgia Legislature.  (Source GA History Center)

Grace Towns Hamilton House in grave need of preservation. (Photo by Brandy Morrison.)

http://www.atlantapreservationcenter.com/place_detail?id=15&pt=1

Maria’s article also includes African American buildings as Morris Brown’s Gaines Hall and Atlanta Life Insurance Company’s first home on Auburn Avenue. I applaud Maria for pulling together this important story because the sale and tearing down of two historic Atlanta churches to make room for a football stadium still makes me sick to my stomach.  And it makes me question why other historic churches all along Peachtree Street were built around like the church across from Colony Square.  And, how about the church next door to the Fulton County Courthouse on Pryor or the one across the street from the State Capitol on Washington…just to name a few.

I believe you will enjoy this article. And, I hope you will think of how you might be a part of a movement to preserve the African American and Civil Rights structures included in the article as well others across the state.

https://saportareport.com/forget-symbols-confederacy-instead-lets-preserve-african-american-heritage/

In conclusion, here is information about Pascal’s Restaurant.  It’s where I walked on rare occasions after being on the tennis courts all day at Washington Park, if I had money for one of their famous fried chicken dinners in the 1970’s.

 

Paschal Brother’s Restaurant & Hotel. Owned and used by Clark Atlanta as a student dorm until 2004.

http://socialshutter.blogspot.com/2013/01/atlantas-warped-civil-right-legacy-sad.html?m=1

This is an important quote from the 2013 article in the link above about how Paschal’s can be preserved;

“If the city of Atlanta can consider sinking money into a new football stadium to draw tourists to the area, shouldn’t it also invest in restoring Paschal’s and its surrounding neighborhood, which may have even greater tourist potential?”

The question now is:  Do we care enough to preserve it and similar important historic structures??

Thanks in advance for leaving your comments and sharing this blog. The more people who know, means more who might help with a full scaled preservation project.