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The historic Odd Fellows Tower at 250 Auburn Avenue was once home to an African-American fraternity and will soon be home to Georgia Works’ year-round housing program for chronically homeless men. It is planned that The renovated building will accommodate up to 164 men at a time, and four retail outlets will be leased to local businesses at below-market rates.
Invest Atlanta recently awarded the project a $1.25 million Eastside Tax Allocation District Fund grant. The city’s public economic development authority created the tax allocation district in 2003 to attract new private investment and help rebuild the city center.
While the interior will be renovated to fit Georgia Works’ needs, the facade will be renovated to fit the needs of Georgia Works, while the facade will be renovated by Easements Atlanta, a nonprofit organization created to protect important historic properties while providing tax credits to property owners. It remains intact under conservation.
David Mitchell, Easements Atlanta board member and Atlanta Preservation Center executive director, said the Odd Fellows building is ideal for a collaborative project. Built in 1913, the building was the home of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization comprised primarily of African Americans. This historic building underwent renovations in his 1980s, but has not been maintained since then.
The building was home to many black social gatherings over the years, and had meeting and office space for odd associates, as well as retail space for black-owned businesses.
“The Odd Fellows buildings here in Atlanta are clearly geared toward African-American culture, and while architectural wonders are good, the really large ones were built by influential figures in the African-American community. “It was given to me,” Mitchell said.
Preservationists said the building is a defining aspect of the city of Atlanta, which is why its preservation is important. Under the easement, preservationists will maintain stewardship of the tower portion of the complex, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Although projects like the Odd Fellows Building offer tax credits to property owners, Mitchell cautions that prioritizing historic buildings over new construction is still an investment.
“Preservation forces us to invest, it forces us to think about who and what we live near, what we do, and what defines our cultural narrative,” Mitchell said.
But in buildings like Odd Fellows Tower, Mitchell said, that investment creates community.
He said it’s “rather natural” that something that aims to bring people together to strengthen communities and move society forward would be home to an organization like Georgia Works.
“Just like the building, there are going to be people who look at it with disdain,” Mitchell said. “But like anything else, when you invest in people, invest in society, invest in your culture and your identity, you’ll be surprised at what you can create.”
Georgia Mills will purchase the tower portion of the complex with a $5 million grant from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and plans to open the renovated facility in spring 2025.
Once opened, they will establish a Homeless Men that can provide housing for up to a year at a nominal fee while they take part in transition work. The organization also provides personal support, case management, and employee training, as long as participants are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. To date, the program has served more than 850 men.
The organization claims that “if a man is clean, has come to terms with his past, and is willing to work, we will help him obtain full-time employment, transportation, and permanent residence within one year.” are doing.
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