Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta
In 1994 the Atlanta Housing Authority, encouraged by the federal HOPE VI program, embarked on a policy created for the purpose of comprehensive revitalization of severely distressed public housing developments. These distressed public housing properties were replaced by mixed-income communities.
Replaced by mixed-income communities
State Capitol Homes (1941-2003)
State Capitol Homes was completed on April 7, 1941 and designed to serve black families in low-rise housing. The 694 units demolished in 2003 were replaced by Capitol Gateway, which includes 1,000 units of housing for various income levels.Carver Community (1953–2000)
The Carver Community housing project in southeast Atlanta was finished on February 17, 1953, costing $8.6 million and consisting of 990 units for African-Americans. Named for George Washington Carver, the project was located near Joyland, an amusement park for Black Atlanta residents. The project was demolished in 2000 and was partially replaced with the Villages at Carver.John J. Eagan Homes
John J. Eagan Homes, also known as Eagan Homes, as a 677-unit complex built in 1941 for black families. It cost $2 million to build and was located in Vine City. The complex was torn down in the 2000s and replaced by Magnolia Park.East Lake Meadows
The East Lake Meadows public housing project was a 654 unit community built in 1971 and was one of the most infamous of all of Atlanta's public housing. At the time the nation's largest turnkey project, East Lake Meadows was immediately plagued by maintenance problems due to poor construction. Crime rates soared, and reporter Bill Seldon for the Atlanta Constitution highlighted the project in a series of articles comparing the high number of killings in Atlanta to Vietnam. These articles led to East Lake Meadows gaining the nickname of "Little Vietnam", and helped contribute to the turning of public opinion against public housing.In the 1990s, as part of his efforts to revitalize the East Lake neighborhood, developer and philanthropist Tom Cousins began working with the Atlanta Housing Authority to replace East Lake Meadows with a mixed-income community. This took place in a larger context of tearing down Atlanta's public housing. In addition to mixed-income housing units, the redevelopment plan included an education center, a private golf course, and various local amenities. Over the course of ten years, East Lake Meadows was demolished and replaced with The Villages at East Lake, the total project costing $172 million.
Henry Grady Homes
Completed in 1942, Henry Grady Homes originally contained 495 units for black families. Located in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, it was demolished and replaced with the Auburn Pointe mixed-income community.Joel Chandler Harris Homes
Built in 1957, Joel Chandler Harris Homes was a 510 unit housing site and the last project built that was intended for white residents before the housing projects were integrated after passage of the federal Civil Rights Act in 1964. It was replaced by Ashley Collegetown. The adjacent John O. Chiles Senior Residence Building was renovated.John Hope Homes
Built adjacent to University Homes in 1941, John Hope Homes 606 units was originally built for black families. In the 2000s, it was demolished and replaced with The Villages at Castleberry Hill.McDaniel Glenn
The McDaniel Glenn housing project was built in 1967, with the Martin Luther King Memorial Building constructed in 1970. Making the complex peak at 768 units Part of the Mechanicsville neighborhood, the complex was demolished in 2006. By 2007, Columbia Residential had completed their redevelopment of the property, named Columbia at Mechanicsville Station. The Martin Luther King High-Rise was demolished with explosives on February 14, 2010.Herman E. Perry Homes
Herman E. Perry Homes was completed in 1954 with 1,100 units for black families. Part of the project was destroyed by a tornado on March 24, 1975, with the buildings being replaced in 1976–77. The project's demolition was completed in 1999, and it was replaced with the West Highlands development.Techwood Homes / Clark Howell Homes
Techwood Homes was the first federally funded public housing project in the United States, with 1,230 units opening in 1936. Located in the Centennial Hill district of Downtown Atlanta, it was joined by Clark Howell Homes in 1940. In the run-up to the 1996 Olympics, Techwood and Clark Howell Homes were demolished and replaced by Centennial Place.University Homes
Built in 1938 on the site of the former Beaver Slide slum. Seen as the African American counterpart to Techwood Homes - the first public housing project in the nation. Architect William Augustus Edwards. Residents of the deteriorating community were relocated in 2006, with 675 units being demolished in 2009. In September 2015, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to revitalize the former University Homes public housing site, along with the Atlanta University Center, Ashview Heights, and the Vine City neighborhoods. The renamed University Homes to "Scholars Landing." Construction will be complete in 2023.Demolished (vacant land)
Antoine Graves Elderly Highrise
Senior citizen highrise built 1965. Architect John C. Portman Jr. who designed numerous high-rises in Downtown Atlanta. This was one of Portman's earliest and most influential projects, his first atrium building and only public housing project. It was located at 126 SE Hilliard St. SE, Downtown, and was demolished 2009, including annex. Portman attempted to prevent the building from being demolished, but was unsuccessful.Bankhead Courts
Bankhead Courts was built in 1970 and consisted of 550 housing units., "demolition was underway".Bowen Homes (1964-2009)
Bowen Homes was a large multifamily housing project built in northwest Atlanta in 1964. Named after John W. E. Bowen, Sr., it included 650 units in a sprawling complex of 104 yellow brick residence buildings, A.D. Williams elementary school, a library, and a day care center. Most inaugural residents were relocated from Buttermilk Bottom in the Old Fourth Ward. Located on Bankhead Highway just inside I-285, the site is now classified as part of the neighborhood of Brookview Heights.On October 13, 1980 a furnace boiler exploded at the day care center, killing four children and a teacher. Some residents initially claimed the blast was related to the Atlanta child murders of 1979–1981, but it turned out that the boiler's water had been drained for maintenance at the end of the previous heating season and not refilled. On October 13 the cool weather of autumn returned, the day care center requested that the heat be turned on, and maintenance staff relit the boiler not realizing it was empty. This caused a boiler explosion thirty minutes later. In 1982, the Atlanta Housing Authority settled out-of-court for $800,000 with ten families seeking damages.
Rapper Shawty Lo was raised in Bowen Homes. He created a mixtape called Bowen Homes Carlos dedicated to the housing project. Bowen Homes was also featured in rapper T.I.'s video What Up, What's Haapnin'. Other musical groups from Bowen Homes include Shop Boyz and Hood Rock. Boxer Evander Holyfield grew up in Bowen.
Bowen Homes was rife with crime. Police reports show 168 violent crimes in the six months between June 2007 and January 2008, including five murders. It was the last large AHA housing project left when it was demolished in 2009. Its razing made Atlanta the first major municipality in the U.S.A. to do so, and its demolition brought the city's era of large multifamily housing projects to a close.
Englewood Manor
Built in 1970, 324 units of Englewood manor were demolished 2009 by the AHA. The land, which has been under control of the AHA since it was developed in 1970, still sits empty as of 2024.Forest Cove
Forest Cove containing 404 was torn down in 2024. It was not a housing project. It was privately owned.Gilbert Gardens
Gilbert Gardens, also known as Poole Creek, was built in the 1960s and torn down in 2004. 266 unit housing projects were demolished and families were displaced.Wheat Street Gardens
Constructed in 1964 with 606 units divided in one 12 story high rise of 210 units and over 30 three story low-rise buildings located in 4th ward of the sweet auburn neighborhood. Just like all of Atlanta's other public housing, Wheat Street was hit hard in 80s and 90s from the Crack epidemic. Later filmed in the movie "Daddy's Little Girl"right before it's demolition in 2006. Even after being torn down drugs still remains a problem in the area.Alonzo F. Herndon Homes
Alonzo F. Herndon Homes, also known as Herndon Homes, was completed in 1941, containing 520 units for African Americans. It was demolished in 2010. The project was named for Alonzo F. Herndon, who was born a slave, and through founding the Atlanta Life Insurance Company became Atlanta's richest African American. On June 15, 2016, the Atlanta Housing Authority announced a development team had been selected to create a mixed-use mixed-income community, called Herndon Square, on the site. The first of five phases began construction in January 2020, and is scheduled to complete in Spring 2021.Herndon Homes was a filming location for the motion picture The Lottery Ticket.