For Immediate Release
ATLANTA,GA, NOVEMBER 21, 2017 – On the morning of November 21, 2017, Atlanta Mayor, Kasim Reed, announced the sale of the Atlanta Civic Center Site located at 395 Piedmont Avenue NE to the Atlanta Housing Authority. The sale indicates a long-anticipated redevelopment plan, which will feature retail units, workspaces and mixed residential units, 30% of which will be dedicated to affordable housing units – the largest commitment to affordable housing in the last 15 years.
“The redevelopment of the Civic Center property will give families and working people the opportunity to live in an area with access to transit, employment, and good schools,” Mayor Reed said in his press conference on Monday.
The Civic Center site includes the 20-year home of Southface, a partner and advisor to the City on matters of resilience and sustainability. The Atlanta Office of Sustainability (now known as the Office of Resilience) was built and incubated at the Southface Headquarters at 241 Pine Street.
“This is an exciting opportunity for all of us,” said Southface President Andrea Pinabell. “It is the culmination of our years of partnership with the City and Mayor Reed is leaving an incredible legacy, in what promises to be a major move towards a more resilient Atlanta.”
Most recently, the City partnered with Southface to engage the community in working sessions and feedback for its 100% Clean Energy Plan for 2035. For the Civic Center Redevelopment project, “the AHA will partner with Southface Energy Institute [sic] to emphasize green building and sustainability efforts, and will develop a program to ensure residents are able to be part of the development effort and the sustainability movement,” as stated in a press release from the City of Atlanta on November 21, 2017.
For the last 40 years, Southface has built regional and national programs to move market adoption of energy efficient and resilient homes, commercial spaces and communities. It has been a champion for workforce development, green space, and affordable housing; all stated components of Mayor Reed’s plan for the site.
Over the next 120 days, the City and its team will assess the site and devise a comprehensive plan for connectivity and green space, and a two to a three-year timeline for the initial phases of development.
“We are looking forward to our continued presence on the site to support the outcomes of the project and our continued partnership with the City and AHA to support the Mayor in achieving his vision for healthy and efficient housing and commercial space, and a highly-trained workforce,” said Pinabell.
About Southface
Southface is the premier organization for resilience in the Southeast. For the last 40 years, Southface’s work has increased the number of healthy and sustainable homes, workplaces and communities throughout the Southeast. It’s certified 50,000 sustainable homes, trained over 5,000 individuals to pursue clean energy and green building jobs, and impacted 2M sq feet of residential green real estate and 200M of green commercial space nationally.
Press Contact:
Jaimie Cohen, Communications Manager
jcohen@southface.org
For more information about Southface or to arrange an interview with our President Andrea Pinabell, members of the media should contact: communications@southface.org.
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