Historic Westside Village
"'Historic Westside Village"' is a mixed-use development in Vine City, Atlanta including a Walmart, other retail stores, and apartment complexes.
History[]
In 1999, the Atlanta Housing Authority first announced plans for the "Historic Westside Village", a $130 million commercial, residential and retail project at the area's southern end near Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. at Ashby St.[1]
Publix failure[]
A Publix supermarket opened in May 2002[2] but the overall project stalled by 2003 as further anchor tenants did not materialize.[3] This, along with disappointing sales, caused the Publix - the only full-sized supermarket for miles around - to close in December 2009.[4] Creative Loafing called the project the most notorious "municipal boondoggle...to have tarred Atlanta" during mayor Bill Campbell's era; the project "fell victim to...cronyism, bureaucratic incompetence and a flagrant disregard for federal lending guidelines".[5]
Walmart success[]
In December 2010 things looked up as the Atlanta Development Authority announced plans for Wal-Mart to open a store on the site, which Mayor Kasim Reed called "an end to the food desert in the area".[6][7] In January 2013 the Wal-Mart opened for business.[8][9]
"Legends of Historic Westside Village"[]
In 2015, "Legends of Historic Westside Village" exhibit was unveiled, "a series of photos of community activists, businesses, and educational institutions that impacted the neighborhood" including Mayor Maynard Holbrook Jackson, former Judge , Dr. Hamilton E. Holmes, Sr., and educator W.E.B Du Bois.[10][11]
References[]
- ^ "Westside due a $130 million redo", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 16, 1999
- ^ "A DREAM FULFILLED: Intown Publix to open", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 30, 2002
- ^ "David Pendered, "Entangled in Vine City; 'The city lost control': Officials scramble to save project to renew Historic Westside Village", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 28, 2003". Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ "Historic Westside Village Publix To Close, Residents Not Happy", MAJIC radio station site, December 2009
- ^ Scott Henry, "Westside Do-over", Creative Loafing, April 26, 2006
- ^ "Historic Westside Community on Road to Revitalization", Atlanta Development Authority, December 13, 2010
- ^ ""Historic Westside Village Welcomes Walmart" (presentation), Atlanta Development Agency, December 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-15. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
- ^ "New Walmart opens in Vine City", WSB-TV, January 23, 2013
- ^ "Vine City/AUC Walmart Grand Opening on Wednesday 1/23: Walmart has said they are ready to open to the public", Marc Richardson, Cascade Patch, January 21, 2013
- ^ http://www.ajc.com/news/local/city-celebrates-legacy-historic-westside-village/X48oO4KzhLf2Lygxb43CrM/
- ^ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/nput_members/bPIBCh4ATMk
- Shopping malls in the Atlanta metropolitan area
- English Avenue and Vine City
- Walmart
- Mixed-use developments in Georgia (U.S. state)