march 2016 owen issue 56
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March 2016 OWEN Issue 56TRANSCRIPT
March 2016 “Thinking Local But in a Big Way” Issue 56
Our West End Newsletter
By Brown
Bungalow
My secret is out!
According to
Redfin:
“Real estate
pioneers are
flocking to West
End because it’s
in a great
location, situated
on the Westside
Trail with plenty
of green space,
parks and close
proximity to the
BeltLine. People
also like West End, because it has beautiful, historic
Queen Anne, Folk Victorian and bungalow homes
with lots of character that are being restored with
modern amenities.”
Yes indeed, real-estate hub Redfin announced its
predictions for 2016’s hottest neighborhoods in major
metropolitan areas across the country. Based on the
most recent growth the company has seen in page
views and favorites on its site, Redfin named our own
West End the most
desirable
neighborhood.
With the
announcement,
2016 will be a great
year for the historic
homes like me. We
can expect vacancy
rates to drop to
single digits.
At prices over
$200,000 for
renovated 3
bedroom, 2 bath
properties, we
centenarian single family homes can expect long
overdue restorations. Better still, at this price points,
single family properties will multiply. We are already
seeing duplex and other multi-family properties being
converted back to single family homes.
We are also excited plenty of walking class neighbors
will join our ranks (see article on page 7).
2016:Year of the Historic House
12/6
Page 7
4/17
2 Our West End Newsletter Issue 56
There will be plenty of FREE chalk and
AUC student volunteers to assist the
effort.
To volunteer or provide mural
ideas, email us at
Where We Want to Live is available
for purchase in your local
independent bookstore.
Brent Brewer “House Lorax”
OWEN Publisher
Publisher’s Corner
On Tuesday, March 15, urban
planner, Ryan Gravel will publish
the story of a small idea that
became the Atlanta way— a book
about, Atlanta BeltLine. With the
title “Where We Want to Live”, it
promises to become required
reading for all BeltLine
neighborhoods.
At the April 17th Atlanta Streets
Alive event, Our West End
Newsletter will coordinate a
message chalk mural.
We would love to use a quote from
Where We Want to Live within the
mural.
Here’s the plan:
Read the book.
Suggest a great quote (5-6
words) about active lifestyles,
transportation alternatives, or
coexistence of BeltLine-bound
neighborhoods.
Volunteer to help execute the
message mural. We will break the
mural into reasonable-sized panels
that will take about 30 to 60
minutes to complete.
All ages fun. We would love to
have families take ownership of
individual panels.
Our West End Newsletter
House Lorax
By Brent Brewer
I am a house Lorax,
I speak for she
I speak for the homes that make our community,
I speak for the West End
For the houses have no tongues
Her beauty I praise
At the top of my lungs!
Red brick paved walks
Border leafy, green streets
Where Craftsman-style homes
Offer charming retreats.
Founded as Whitehall
Before the Terminus of Rails
At the site of convergence
For three Native trails --
Historic West End
Home of the Wren’s Nest
with neighbors of all hues
And all faiths we’re blessed.
Urban pioneers
Staked out their claims,
Restored the old homesteads,
And honored her name.
As a National Historic District Community
Her treasures are preserved for all to see.
Yes, the first emerald jewels
In the BeltLine shine here.
So invite in new neighbors,
Greet them and share
The gorgeous old Queen Annes
And make them aware.
(continued on next page )
4
Our West End Newsletter 5
Homegrown Businesses Activate for ASA submit a two sentence business description, social media information, and any special events happening at your business. Send information to [email protected] For all other businesses, pricing starts as low as $10. If you are a business along Ralph David Abernathy, you are encouraged to be open Sunday, April 17, 2016 and extend your storefront to the street. Sign up to be an Atlanta Streets Alive business partner at www.atlantastreetsalive.com/business. About West End Merchants Coalition It is the mission of the West End Merchants Coalition, Inc. to grow and promote businesses and encourage investment in our West End community. Our member meetings are held the last Thursday of every month. About Atlanta West End Rotary Microloan program Microloan program provides free business training,
free mentorship, free peer support, and a business
loan. The next microloan recipients will be selected in
June 2016.
Truly Living Well Farms will move to Lawton st. this spring bringing it’s highly successful ability to create entrepreneurship from fertile ground. West End has the only established commercial district on the upcoming April 17th Atlanta Streets Alive route. We plan to showcase our business district in an innovative way.
For Atlanta Streets Alive, Our West End Newsletter, in collaboration with the West End Merchants Coalition and Atlanta West End Rotary’s Microloan program, will launch a mobile West End business district app. How does a business get on the app? If you are a West End Merchant Coalition member or AWE Rotary Microloan recipient, free of charge, you
House Lorax
(continued from page 4)
That unless someone like you
Cares a whole awful lot
Our centenarian houses will sit here and rot.
I am a house Lorax,
I speak for she
I speak for the homes that make our community,
I speak for the West End
For the houses have no tongues
Her beauty I praise
At the top of my lungs!
Atlanta Streets Alive (ASA) returns this year with
expanded route.
On April 17, 2016, ASA will connect seven
neighborhoods in southwest and southeast Atlanta
with a nearly 4-mile route stretching from Westview
to Grant Park.
Atlanta Streets Alive is an initiative of the Atlanta
Bicycle Coalition, shifting Atlanta’s culture to become
a more livable city - building community and
highlighting neighborhood pride, providing healthy
activities for Atlanta residents and visitors, and
educating the public on transportation options to get
to where you work, live, and play.
ASA is a free, all-ages event where selected streets are
closed to motorists and open to pedestrians and
cyclists, with stops along the way including food,
activities and vendors.
6 Our West End Newsletter
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition events coordinator Heather
Luyk says the expansion allows the route to be more
linuear like the open-street festivals held in other cities
that inspired ASA organizers.
Luyk says the linear route promotes open streets with
“hubs” of activity and serves to showcase what each
neighborhood has to offer. Residents will get a
chance to bike through Westview, West End, Adair
Park, Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, Summerhill, and
Grant Park. They can also get a peek at ongoing
construction of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Westside Trail.
.
Civic Pride While Neighborhoods Coincide
ASA Volunteer Opportunities
Contact Heather Luyk at
Our West End Newsletter 7
WE is Still Classy (Sometimes Sassy) Working Class. Lower Middle Class. Middle Class. Upper Middle Class. Every class except no class– vacant properties. For the first time in decades, we are at greater than 90 % stable occupancy. Recently, neighbors took a survey assessing their attitudes about the neighborhood. Of the 30+ responses, most neighbors felt that vacant and abandoned properties did not impact their property. This is a complete turnaround from ten years ago where neighborhood-wide vacancy rates exceeded 30%. At the time, houses were bought and sold at inflated prices (often multiple times) in mortgage fraud schemes. During the mortgage fraud heyday when sale prices exceeded $400K, if the houses were ever occupied, the residents would have clearly been wealthy class. It would have been hard to tell if the houses were vacant since residents of wealthy class neighborhoods are often so busy making money to pay for their homes that
Sankofa symbol acknowledge neighborhood as still
predominately Black. Body is in the shape of Historic W.E.
neighbors rarely see them. Wealthy class residents drive from appointment to appointment because time is money. When they have leisure time, they probably don’t want it interrupted by passersby, so they build oversized privacy fences and celebrate in backyards. In contrast to the inflated aspirations of the mortgage fraud days, WE are the walking class– a neighborhood affordable enough that neighbors walk/bike for transportation and leisure. Beyond an active lifestyle, WE understand that extending home into public space is the fabric of historic neighborhoods, our social architecture. Over the past ten years, our growth has been incremental with neighbors moving into homes they love rather than bidding for an address on particular streets. As a result, there still exists class diversity on every street, which affords some sassy
Issue 56