Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) this week will break ground on a 100,000 square-foot mixed-use project, Front Porch on Auburn, under the direction of Sovereign Construction and Development (SDC), led and founded by Dr. Michael Hatcher.
The groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. on July 6, 2022, HDDC Tuesday announced in a press release. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens will give remarks along with Atlanta City Councilman Amir Faroki, Atlanta City Councilwoman Liliana Bakhtiari, Fulton County Commissioner Natalie Hall, and others.
The project — first announced in 2019 — includes 25,000 square feet of commercial space, 45 units of rental housing, 20,000 square feet of rooftop gardens, and 16 units of for-sale housing.
“Front Porch is a community-driven project vital to demonstrating the market and helping to catalyze up to $1 billion in future Sweet Auburn development,” according to the release. “The project team is Black-led, and 80 percent of tenants are expected to be minority-owned businesses.” There are also affordable rental units and affordable homeownership opportunities.
“The whole development will be dedicated to affordability for both the residential and commercial spaces,” Dr. Hatcher said. “This will be the first new construction mixed-use project developed and built along the corridor since the housing market crash. From graduate students living together in one unit, or a group of film industry professionals could lease another unit, and another industry-related group could inhabit another unit. The possibilities for potential end-users are unlimited.”
Front Porch is estimated to create ~107 full-time employees by reactivating a retail corridor, including six pop-up spaces for local entrepreneurs. The project is working with a green building consultant and will have a rooftop garden to provide fresh produce to the tenants and the community.
“Our goal is for Front Porch to be the example of truly equitable development in Atlanta,” Chenee’ Joseph, President and CEO of HDDC, said. “I am honored and humbled to be a part of the team of amazing people who believed in HDDC’s vision to create a project that is the catalyst for the revitalization of Auburn Avenue. The time is now for our community to thrive and HDDC and its partners are proud to lead the way.”
One Response
That is one hideously ugly building. Since this is being built in a historic area, it would have been nice if this development would have paid some respect to its surroundings, but, once again, greed and laziness triumphs over good taste and effort.