Mayor Andre Dickens teamed up with rapper T.I. to unveil a new affordable housing project on the Westside of Atlanta. On Nov. 14, Mayor Dickens and T.I. cut the ribbon on the Intrada Building which is located on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, formerly known as Bankhead.
The launch of the initiative comes at a time when Atlanta’s rental market continues to rise with the average rent being $1,800. However, salaries have not caught up with the cost of rent with the average person earning just over $34.00 per hour.
Dickens commended T.I. for giving back to the community in which he often raps about on songs. “When you listen to Tip’s album… he shouts out all the neighborhoods right around here,” Dickens said.
T.I. also revealed how he was once mischief in that area during his youth, but he’s now focused on giving back.
“I’m going to tell y’all a secret. Don’t tell nobody. I got caught stealing from this Kmart,” T.I. said, joking. “I thought that, you know, just to offset the shame that came with that, it would behoove me to invest in the community by acquiring these properties.”
Intrada is a partnership with the City of Atlanta, T.I.’s “Briarhouse Holdings,” and the Vecino group. It will feature 140 units.
Over the past two years, the city has developed 3,200 affordable homes, with an additional 5,000 under construction. Mayor Dickens’s goal is to establish 20,000 affordable housing units, demonstrating a commitment to addressing the housing crisis in Atlanta.
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