Our Community
Our Programs
Affordable Housing
The HDDC affordable housing program focuses on pursuing redevelopment projects that promote growth, inclusive and equitable communities, and long-term affordability in the Sweet Auburn Historic District. Our “block by block” strategy is a national best practice in neighborhood revitalization and is a key driver of our single family home-building projects.
Shared Equity & Affordable Rentals
In an effort to promote homeownership, HDDC has piloted a shared equity program. With this approach, we make sure homes stay affordable long-term, allowing more families the opportunity to use homeownership as a vehicle for wealth creation. Additionally, HDDC develops multifamily housing within the Sweet Auburn & Fourth Ward communities. These projects include Front Porch & Henderson Place.
Urban Agriculture
Our urban agriculture program focuses on providing access to fresh and affordable foods and creating collaborative initiatives with farmers, local business owners, and local residents to build an urban agricultural ecosystem. Our Front Porch project is our Urban Farming & Agricultural Catalyst.
Front Porch is a community-driven development project that will combat social and racial inequality. It infuses key elements of environmentally and economically sustainable infrastructure, urban agriculture, and commerce into the neighborhood economy.
Program Activities will include:
- Creating opportunities for black urban farmers
- Creating pop-up farmers’ market
- Building relationships for farm-to-table with restaurants
- Facilitating garden installations
Arts & Culture Program
We believe that advocating for arts and culture is essential for preserving the cultural significance of the Old Fourth Ward and Sweet Auburn Historic District. The Arts & Culture program focuses on the integration and celebration of art and culture within our spaces. Our properties and the surrounding environment are platforms for our exhibits, performances, and other cultural experiences meant to enhance the lives of our community.
Program activities include:
- Developing visual arts venues with affordable space for artists at HDDC properties
- Sponsoring visual arts events
- Developing a Curator-in-Residence program
- Developing MLK, Jr. historic district neighborhood tours
- Developing opportunities for storytelling
- Ensuring community inclusion in the program development and implementation
Mtamanika Youngblood Curator-in-Residence Program
The Initiative
Named in honor of Mtamanika Youngblood, a trailblazer in Sweet Auburn community development, advocate for the arts, and former President and CEO of Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC), this program offers a dedicated platform to emerging curators. It provides them with the opportunity to curate exhibitions that shed light on the rich tapestry of local, national, and international narratives surrounding Black history and culture.
Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC) will provide the selected Mtamanika Youngblood Curator-in-Residence with the following benefits:
Time & Space
The Curator-in-Residence is provided with a spacious office at Haugabrooks on Auburn, offering 24/7 access to an expansive 1,200 square feet of gallery space. The schedule is flexible, allowing for independent and self-driven use dedicated to scholarly research, curatorial project development, and building professional connections with local artists and arts professionals. Curators are expected to have office hours for the public at least once a week.
Financial Support
The chosen Curator-in-Residence will be allocated a $15,000 budget to curate three exhibitions within a 12-month timeframe, with $5,000 earmarked for each exhibition.
For more information and to apply, click button below. Our partner, Dashboard is a creative non-profit producing transformative arts experiences in public spaces.
S.A.G.E. District
The Sweet Auburn Green and Equitable District, or S.A.G.E., is envisioned as a holistic strategy for driving sustainable redevelopment and investment in our communities, by our communities.
As a community development organization, we recognize ourselves as one piece of a larger economic development puzzle in the Sweet Auburn District. That’s why we have partnered with Sweet Auburn Works, Central Atlanta Progress, & Local Initiatives Support Corporation to collectively implement projects & programs in Sweet Auburn.
We understand the interconnected nature of affordable housing, homelessness, education, health & wellness, job opportunities, transportation, food insecurity, and environmental sustainability. The gains we’re making on affordable housing are only as sustainable as the gains being made on the fronts of all disparities.
