The revitalization of our public housing has a tangible ripple effect on the revitalization of all of Atlanta. We will continue to do as much as we can to provide all of our citizens with the best possible standard of living. The City's Planning Department, under the direction of Michael Dobbins, assists the AHA in developing public housing neighborhoods that follow the Administration's vision for urban revitalization. In Centennial Village, red bricked homes with stark white second-story porches have replaced units of drab cinderblock. Sunshine replacing the dingy gray that once hovered above the downtown community formerly known as Techwood Homes now dances on freshly cut grass and on new trees.
Pretty lamps provide more lighting and security at night.
When the complex is completed in 2002, there will be 900 units sprawling over 60 acres, and it will contain a health club, retail center and magnet school. Some residents have lived in the complex, the oldest public housing community in the nation, for many years, but they say this is a new beginning for them. Martin Street Plaza as it appeared prior to renovation in 1995. Martin Street Plaza as it appears today. To turn public housing in Atlanta around, the Mayor first hired a new executive director, Renee Glover, to implement his vision of mixed-income housing.