What is happening in Forest Cove?

By Nichole Owens, public relations manager

From Forest Cove, you can see the Atlanta skyline: Crisp, stately high rises punctuate the promise of the city, the promise that anything is possible – that the sky is the limit.

Except, in Forest Cove, it’s not. The embattled, 396-unit, half-vacant apartment complex in the southeast Atlanta neighborhood of Thomasville Heights is unsafe and uninhabitable. Mold, insect infestations, sewage leaks, and unstable infrastructure are common complaints and reasons for which the property, which is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has received hundreds of code violations since 2017.

And then there’s the crime. According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, police have received more than 650 calls for violent crimes in the complex since 2020.

In 2021, The Millennia Companies, a private company based in Cleveland, Ohio, purchased the property and announced plans to relocate residents while the property underwent a full renovation. But in January 2022, a judge condemned the property and ordered that it be demolished by September.

Helping Forest Cove families find new homes

In July, a group of nonprofit stakeholders, co-led by the City of Atlanta and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, convened to plan for the eventual relocation of Forest Cove residents (an estimated 200 households). Since then, the group has grown to an estimated 40 representatives from 10 organizations.

In May, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens signed legislation allocating the first $1.5 million of a planned $9.1 million City investment to support the relocation of Forest Cove residents. As the designated fiscal agent for the initiative, the Community Foundation provides funding to organizations that can provide supportive services to Forest Cove residents. These services include case management, childcare, education, financial literacy, integrated healthcare, transportation, and more. The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is providing broad-based case management support.

The first families were relocated in early June, with the goal that families with school-age children would be settled into their new homes before the start of the school year on August 1.  Relocation is a multi-step process that begins with an informational session for Forest Cove residents. Those sessions are followed by a series of steps designed to help each family choose the right living accommodations. These steps are as follows:

1. Each family visits three housing options with transportation provided
2. The family selects a unit and completes necessary documents with help from Open Doors,
3. Inspection of the unit occurs and the hold fee is issued
4. Relocation assistance provides furniture, moving supplies and moving firm options
5. Families pack for their move, while utilities are established in the residents’ name, movers are scheduled and move-in fees are paid
6. Throughout the transition, neighborhood partners step up to provide additional holistic services including camps for children, fresh produce, and access to clean shower facilities on various days and weeks throughout the evolving summer season

To date, 76 families have been permanently relocated; 12 others are being temporarily housed in hotels until suitable housing is found for them. To help expedite relocation efforts, the Foundation and its stakeholders have begun sourcing temporary Airbnbs and single family homes to compensate for the lack of available three- and four-bedroom apartments in metro Atlanta.

Even after the relocation is complete, the Foundation’s work in Forest Cove will be far from over. We, along with the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Housing have engaged APD Urban to help Forest Cove residents develop a long-term housing strategy for the neighborhood. Our hope and goal is to create a collective, collaborative vision for the future of the neighborhood while mitigating gentrification and displacement, improving safety and increasing homeownership opportunities for those who call the Thomasville neighborhood home.

Are you interested in supporting the residents of Forest Cove? Make a gift to our TogetherATL Fund or contact your philanthropic officer for a list of partner organizations working in the community.