Back from the brink

Pictured: A neighborhood in Historic South Atlanta, a key place of focus for the Community Foundation and Focused Community Strategies (FCS).

The financial crisis that took hold in 2008 devastated the neighborhood of Historic South Atlanta.

Many of the homeowners held variablerate mortgages. When the crisis spiked interest rates and also tanked the economy, scores of neighbors faced foreclosure.

Ultimately, 220 of the 550 homes in the neighborhood ended up vacant, plummeting values of the remaining homes and shredding the social fabric of the once tightknit community.

Then came the double whammy. Once the economy steadied, outside investors started buying up properties on the cheap, street-by-street throughout Historic South Atlanta.

Focused Community Strategies (FCS) had a track record working on affordable housing issues. But the organization would have to move fast to revive the heart and soul of the neighborhood.

Nine investors committed to start a rotational capital fund to purchase and renovate homes. That initial investment, with other funding, grew the fund to $500,000.

“It was then that we started buying, rehabbing, selling and moving as fast as we could,” said Jim Wehner, president, Focused Community Strategies.

Over three years, FCS purchased, renovated and sold 12 houses while the fund grew to nearly $1 million. Then came the game-changer. FCS secured a sizeable loan through the GoATL Community Capacity Fund with an affordable interest rate of 2.5% – significantly better than banks offered at that time.

The funding helped FCS accelerate its purchasing and renovating power from 10 to 12 neighborhood houses annually.

“GoATL was a catalytic funder that enabled us to strengthen our program and stay consistent,” Wehner said. “The GoATL team let us learn and helped us mature as an organization.”

The GoATL Community Capacity Fund also helped FCS build credibility. Banks started coming around and offering more competitive rates.

It’s taken time, patience and perseverance. But when Wehner now drives through Historic South Atlanta, he sees a neighborhood on the rise with many well-maintained homes, children playing, neighbors chatting.

“We like to joke we’re a 25-year overnight success,” Wehner chuckled, and then with saliency added, “Yet it’s the neighbors living there who are changing the block.”

“It’s not FCS,” he said. “We don’t take credit for the lift. Neighbors are the lift. It changes the neighborhood to have those houses filled with individuals and families.”