REVISE THE BOWEN HOMES REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
REVISE THE BOWEN HOMES REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
The Issue
THE DEEP HISTORY OF BOWEN HOMES
(footage of buttermilk bottom)
THE START
Bowen Homes was built in 1964 as replacement housing for a former slum/shanty town called buttermilk bottom. Named after John W. E. Bowen, Sr. and was a sprawling complex of red, yellow, green, and blue-colored duplexes, containing an elementary school and a library. They were located along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway (aka Bankhead Highway) just inside I-285 (the "Perimeter"). The site is now classified as part of the neighborhood of Carey Park.
In 1980, a water tube boiler explosion at the onsite Gate City Day Care Center killed four children and a teacher and injured seven others. The residents of Bowen Homes thought the deaths were related to the Atlanta child killings of the late 1970s to early 1980s
A furnace exploded on June 4, 2007, with no fatalities and one injury. The explosion caused damage to the interior of the building.
A.D. Williams Elementary School is still standing to this day.
Rapper Shawty Lo was raised in Bowen Homes (one of his mixtapes Bowen Homes Carlos, is dedicated to the project), and the project was also featured in rapper T.I.'s video What Up, What's Haapnin' (seen as a "diss" to Shawty). Other musical groups from Bowen Homes include Shop Boyz and Hood Rock.Boxer Evander Holyfield grew up in Bowen.
(FOOTAGE OF MUSIC VIDEOS IN BOWEN BELOW )
Bowen Homes was rife with crime—police reports show 168 violent crimes, including five murders, in the half year between June 2007 and January 2008. In 2008, 913 residents had to leave the complex of 104 buildings, which contained 650 units. Bowen Homes was the last large family housing project left in Atlanta and its razing made Atlanta the first major city in America to completely do away with its large family housing projects (some senior and other minor properties remained). Bowen Homes were finally demolished on June 3, 2009
- (WHAT IS GOIN ON WITH BOWEN HOMES NOW?)
( The current but not final site plan for Bowen homes.)
Above is the Master plan that is being planned on the former Bowen Homes site a large mixed used development. The plan calls for
WHO IS IMPACTED ?
The lack of affordable housing in the
development is a sign of gentrification.
Gentrification is the process of a neighborhood
changing from a low-income area to a higher-
income area. This often leads to the
displacement of the existing community and the
erasure of its cultural identity. The Benoit
development is a prime example of
gentrification, as it will attract higher-income
residents and change the character of the
neighborhood.
In conclusion, the Benoit development on the
former Bowen Homes site is a cause for
concern. The lack of missing middle housing units in the project means that the residents of the surrounding Carey Park neighborhood and the former residents of Bowen homes themselves will not have access to the new housing options.
The plans that call for a majority of the site to be high-density infrastructure and large-scale
buildings will change the character of the
neighborhood and erase not enhance its cultural identity. The
development is a sign of gentrification and will
lead to further displacement of the existing
community. It is important for developers to take
into account the needs of the existing
community and ensure that their projects do not
lead to gentrification and cultural erasure.
(BOWEN HOMES CIRCA 2008)
(BOWEN HOMES REDEVELOPMENT PLAN WITH ACTUAL COMMUNITY INPUT)
Above is a photo of Bowen homes Circa 2006 and the second picture below is a site plan put together with actual input from the community on how the site should be dedicated and redeveloped this plan dubbed a legacy community will feature 2,096 units, 650 replacement units for Bowen homes families who’ll get first right, far fewer and more affordable for sale homes. 300 tax credit units,146 workforce units and 1000 market rate units. The most important feature of this project is that the development is designed to respect the history of Bowen homes with art murals, a historic reconstruction of a Bowen residential building and newer but similar infrastructure based on the former orange duplexes with a modern component and various other missing middle housing types that fit in the communities infrastructure and can provide affordable rent compared to today’s larger buildings. This project compared to the current plan being pushed by Atlanta housing which claims to do the same but most developments similar to it have disappointing outcomes. And none of the buildings on the site plan represent the Bowen community or will provided enough or true affordable rents due to the cost of building such large development.
Sign this petition to push to revise this plan and have the history and legacy of Bowen homes brought back to life the right way.
Below is major historic events and the culture of Bowen homes that influenced Atlantas music scene.
If it’s one word to describe the huge former duplex community is that it’s well known among natives as being Historic.
Between Atlanta’s Civil rights History,Music History and History as well respected Urban Nightmare, i will break down why it’s crucial For the Bowen Choice Development to be Centered around the history and characteristics of the former complex
THE BOWEN HOMES DAYCARE EXPLOSION
Footage of the Bowen homes bombings below
With such a rich foundation Gates City Bowen Homes Daycare Center, was set on a solid foundation— until the morning of October 13, 1980, when a mysterious exposition happened, killing four children (all Black boys) and two adults. At the time of the explosion, Atlanta was experiencing a string of unsolved murders and kidnappings of Black boys.
The morning of the explosion, Police said “there were 83 children, all young black males, and 12 adults at the center at the time of the explosion”. The center had a capacity of 85 children. Fire officials blamed the explosion at Gates City Bowen Homes Daycare Center on gas leaking from the daycare center’s furnace. Many Atlanta residents still believe the explosion was connected to the Atlanta Child Murders.
Gate City Bowen Homes Daycare Center, is a distant memory –as Bowen Homes Housing Project was demolished in 2008 the 77–acre Bowen Homes site is on the scale for a revitalization plan of the far northwest corridor of the city. As of today, there is no visual remembrance of that sad day.
POLITICAL TIES
Bowen homes and many other Atlanta housing developments had a form of social and political power through tentant associations to revive needs such as public transportation and other city services, the community had its own Marta bus route .
The rev Jessie Jackson spent the night in the Bowen homes housing development to protest the removal of African American neighborhoods from inner cities. Bowen homes was also a neighborhood Former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson stood behind during the bombing incident as the community was one of his main supporters.
A video of him having dinner with a family in the development is in the link below.
CARE WATCH ARTWORK MURALS
Bowen Homes was one of many housing developments in Atlanta that had the Care watch art murals of children that went missing and murdered from the developments They lived in. Bowens murals consisted of the daycare bombing victims and the missing and murdered children who lived in Bowen.
MUSIC HISTORY
Bowen Homes is known for is its presence in Atlanta’s Music Scene with many of Atlanta’s well known artists coming from the community such as Shawty Lo,Kilo Ali,Andre3000,The Shop Boyz,Lil Marlo,MDC,D4L and many more, the community birthed a legacy of the pioneers of Atlanta’s music scene.
:OutKast member Andre 3000 running down a hill in Bowen followed with the children Bowen running behind him in a field of grass in his bob music video
Grammy nominated rapper T.I shot his music video “what up” in Bowen homes.
(Rapper lil marlo walking through what remains of bowen homes
https://youtu.be/79XbYatE_m4
(Shawty Lo giving a tour of Bowen Homes neighborhood before its demolished.)
https://youtu.be/wX-7ps9RC8E
Rap Group C.O.D riding through Bowen homes in their music video underground.
https://youtu.be/4XrFtLTDma0
Grammy nominated rapper Gucci mane shot his video in Bowen homes with shawty lo
Rapper shawty lo taunting his respect into the Bowen community aimed at rapper ti in his
A LONG LASTING LEGACY
(former Bowen Homes residents/ artist the shop Boyz throwing a Bowen homes themed birthday party)
Bowen homes day celebrations with the residents and artist from the community in 2019 nearly 11 years after the complex was
demolished.
Artist and Bowen native kilo Ali filmed his music video show me love in Bowen homes https://youtu.be/KdeY-WWa-i4
It’s been 13 years since the former project community was demolished and some how it still finds its way to be the talk of the town after a decade, just to show how much of a influence and love the community had for Bowen Homes but Atlanta as well.
From historic Chivers St to the project’s favorite Shawty Lo and the Bowen Homes Bombings it’s a reason the redevelopment of this project is crucial to keeping the history and legacy alive for not only Bowen Homes but community itself that gave it life.
Sanctioning a large portion of the site to the community with legacy apartments and a historic Bowen building, along with the historic care watch artwork murals and other portraits of the many artist. A idea for redevelopment on how to be cautious that we don’t erase the culture birthed from the natives but bring light and life to a now disinvested part of Atlanta
A video tour of what the former complex looked like is in the link below.
133
The Issue
THE DEEP HISTORY OF BOWEN HOMES
(footage of buttermilk bottom)
THE START
Bowen Homes was built in 1964 as replacement housing for a former slum/shanty town called buttermilk bottom. Named after John W. E. Bowen, Sr. and was a sprawling complex of red, yellow, green, and blue-colored duplexes, containing an elementary school and a library. They were located along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway (aka Bankhead Highway) just inside I-285 (the "Perimeter"). The site is now classified as part of the neighborhood of Carey Park.
In 1980, a water tube boiler explosion at the onsite Gate City Day Care Center killed four children and a teacher and injured seven others. The residents of Bowen Homes thought the deaths were related to the Atlanta child killings of the late 1970s to early 1980s
A furnace exploded on June 4, 2007, with no fatalities and one injury. The explosion caused damage to the interior of the building.
A.D. Williams Elementary School is still standing to this day.
Rapper Shawty Lo was raised in Bowen Homes (one of his mixtapes Bowen Homes Carlos, is dedicated to the project), and the project was also featured in rapper T.I.'s video What Up, What's Haapnin' (seen as a "diss" to Shawty). Other musical groups from Bowen Homes include Shop Boyz and Hood Rock.Boxer Evander Holyfield grew up in Bowen.
(FOOTAGE OF MUSIC VIDEOS IN BOWEN BELOW )
Bowen Homes was rife with crime—police reports show 168 violent crimes, including five murders, in the half year between June 2007 and January 2008. In 2008, 913 residents had to leave the complex of 104 buildings, which contained 650 units. Bowen Homes was the last large family housing project left in Atlanta and its razing made Atlanta the first major city in America to completely do away with its large family housing projects (some senior and other minor properties remained). Bowen Homes were finally demolished on June 3, 2009
- (WHAT IS GOIN ON WITH BOWEN HOMES NOW?)
( The current but not final site plan for Bowen homes.)
Above is the Master plan that is being planned on the former Bowen Homes site a large mixed used development. The plan calls for
WHO IS IMPACTED ?
The lack of affordable housing in the
development is a sign of gentrification.
Gentrification is the process of a neighborhood
changing from a low-income area to a higher-
income area. This often leads to the
displacement of the existing community and the
erasure of its cultural identity. The Benoit
development is a prime example of
gentrification, as it will attract higher-income
residents and change the character of the
neighborhood.
In conclusion, the Benoit development on the
former Bowen Homes site is a cause for
concern. The lack of missing middle housing units in the project means that the residents of the surrounding Carey Park neighborhood and the former residents of Bowen homes themselves will not have access to the new housing options.
The plans that call for a majority of the site to be high-density infrastructure and large-scale
buildings will change the character of the
neighborhood and erase not enhance its cultural identity. The
development is a sign of gentrification and will
lead to further displacement of the existing
community. It is important for developers to take
into account the needs of the existing
community and ensure that their projects do not
lead to gentrification and cultural erasure.
(BOWEN HOMES CIRCA 2008)
(BOWEN HOMES REDEVELOPMENT PLAN WITH ACTUAL COMMUNITY INPUT)
Above is a photo of Bowen homes Circa 2006 and the second picture below is a site plan put together with actual input from the community on how the site should be dedicated and redeveloped this plan dubbed a legacy community will feature 2,096 units, 650 replacement units for Bowen homes families who’ll get first right, far fewer and more affordable for sale homes. 300 tax credit units,146 workforce units and 1000 market rate units. The most important feature of this project is that the development is designed to respect the history of Bowen homes with art murals, a historic reconstruction of a Bowen residential building and newer but similar infrastructure based on the former orange duplexes with a modern component and various other missing middle housing types that fit in the communities infrastructure and can provide affordable rent compared to today’s larger buildings. This project compared to the current plan being pushed by Atlanta housing which claims to do the same but most developments similar to it have disappointing outcomes. And none of the buildings on the site plan represent the Bowen community or will provided enough or true affordable rents due to the cost of building such large development.
Sign this petition to push to revise this plan and have the history and legacy of Bowen homes brought back to life the right way.
Below is major historic events and the culture of Bowen homes that influenced Atlantas music scene.
If it’s one word to describe the huge former duplex community is that it’s well known among natives as being Historic.
Between Atlanta’s Civil rights History,Music History and History as well respected Urban Nightmare, i will break down why it’s crucial For the Bowen Choice Development to be Centered around the history and characteristics of the former complex
THE BOWEN HOMES DAYCARE EXPLOSION
Footage of the Bowen homes bombings below
With such a rich foundation Gates City Bowen Homes Daycare Center, was set on a solid foundation— until the morning of October 13, 1980, when a mysterious exposition happened, killing four children (all Black boys) and two adults. At the time of the explosion, Atlanta was experiencing a string of unsolved murders and kidnappings of Black boys.
The morning of the explosion, Police said “there were 83 children, all young black males, and 12 adults at the center at the time of the explosion”. The center had a capacity of 85 children. Fire officials blamed the explosion at Gates City Bowen Homes Daycare Center on gas leaking from the daycare center’s furnace. Many Atlanta residents still believe the explosion was connected to the Atlanta Child Murders.
Gate City Bowen Homes Daycare Center, is a distant memory –as Bowen Homes Housing Project was demolished in 2008 the 77–acre Bowen Homes site is on the scale for a revitalization plan of the far northwest corridor of the city. As of today, there is no visual remembrance of that sad day.
POLITICAL TIES
Bowen homes and many other Atlanta housing developments had a form of social and political power through tentant associations to revive needs such as public transportation and other city services, the community had its own Marta bus route .
The rev Jessie Jackson spent the night in the Bowen homes housing development to protest the removal of African American neighborhoods from inner cities. Bowen homes was also a neighborhood Former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson stood behind during the bombing incident as the community was one of his main supporters.
A video of him having dinner with a family in the development is in the link below.
CARE WATCH ARTWORK MURALS
Bowen Homes was one of many housing developments in Atlanta that had the Care watch art murals of children that went missing and murdered from the developments They lived in. Bowens murals consisted of the daycare bombing victims and the missing and murdered children who lived in Bowen.
MUSIC HISTORY
Bowen Homes is known for is its presence in Atlanta’s Music Scene with many of Atlanta’s well known artists coming from the community such as Shawty Lo,Kilo Ali,Andre3000,The Shop Boyz,Lil Marlo,MDC,D4L and many more, the community birthed a legacy of the pioneers of Atlanta’s music scene.
:OutKast member Andre 3000 running down a hill in Bowen followed with the children Bowen running behind him in a field of grass in his bob music video
Grammy nominated rapper T.I shot his music video “what up” in Bowen homes.
(Rapper lil marlo walking through what remains of bowen homes
https://youtu.be/79XbYatE_m4
(Shawty Lo giving a tour of Bowen Homes neighborhood before its demolished.)
https://youtu.be/wX-7ps9RC8E
Rap Group C.O.D riding through Bowen homes in their music video underground.
https://youtu.be/4XrFtLTDma0
Grammy nominated rapper Gucci mane shot his video in Bowen homes with shawty lo
Rapper shawty lo taunting his respect into the Bowen community aimed at rapper ti in his
A LONG LASTING LEGACY
(former Bowen Homes residents/ artist the shop Boyz throwing a Bowen homes themed birthday party)
Bowen homes day celebrations with the residents and artist from the community in 2019 nearly 11 years after the complex was
demolished.
Artist and Bowen native kilo Ali filmed his music video show me love in Bowen homes https://youtu.be/KdeY-WWa-i4
It’s been 13 years since the former project community was demolished and some how it still finds its way to be the talk of the town after a decade, just to show how much of a influence and love the community had for Bowen Homes but Atlanta as well.
From historic Chivers St to the project’s favorite Shawty Lo and the Bowen Homes Bombings it’s a reason the redevelopment of this project is crucial to keeping the history and legacy alive for not only Bowen Homes but community itself that gave it life.
Sanctioning a large portion of the site to the community with legacy apartments and a historic Bowen building, along with the historic care watch artwork murals and other portraits of the many artist. A idea for redevelopment on how to be cautious that we don’t erase the culture birthed from the natives but bring light and life to a now disinvested part of Atlanta
A video tour of what the former complex looked like is in the link below.
133
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Petition created on March 16, 2023