Atlanta’s Beacon project marks rapid housing milestone

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the City of Atlanta have reached a milestone in their initiative to build or preserve 20,000 affordable housing units across the city by 2030. The Beacon at Cooper Street, located at 405 Cooper Street, is the 500th unit of rapid housing and marks a continued effort to combat homelessness and provide safe, secure, and affordable housing. 

A wreath of blue, white, and red balloons with the number 500 arched over Dickens as he addressed a crowd filled with Mechanicsville community members, city officials, contractors, planners, and developers. 

“From the start of my administration, I said that how we treat our most vulnerable neighbors would define us as a city. Through our rapid housing initiative, we decided to act with urgency, turning underutilized city-owned land and county-owned land into permanent supportive housing,” Dickens said. “We set a clear goal to deliver 500 rapid housing units for those experiencing homelessness across our city, and with the completion of the Beacon, we’ve officially reached that milestone, which is promises made and promises kept.”

Dickens emphasized that the number blown up behind him didn’t just represent the city’s 500th unit, but “500 opportunities, 500 lives, 500 chances at stability, at dignity, and 500 Atlantans.”

The Beacon was completed in 9 months, a feat that yielded 2 multi-story buildings with 112 modular units, each over 250 square feet. Four offices were designed to support residents through case management, mental health services, and other resources. Through Project Heal, an initiative of Atlanta Rising that integrates medical and mental health support with new housing, 30 units are dedicated to on-site, community-based mental health and medical supportive care. 

Albert “Shivy” Brooks, the Seat 7, At-Large member of the Atlanta Public School Board, said that the Beacon wasn’t just an investment in housing, but in education as well.

“Today, we are not just cutting a ribbon. We are making a statement about who we are as a city and what we want to prioritize. The Beacon on Cooper Street represents more than a development. It represents a decision to meet people where they are and to provide stability for residents who need it the most,” Brooks said. 

“This land once belonged to Atlanta Public Schools, and this moment is evidence that this board is taking seriously our responsibility to repurpose and restore our surplus properties for the benefit of the city. For too long, spaces like this sat underutilized, contributing to blight and unsafe conditions for our community that cannot and will not be our legacy. This is what it looks like to correct years of neglect and disinvestment. This is what it looks like to turn a liability into an opportunity. This is what it looks like to be accountable, and we are just getting started.”

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