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A unique community building reading event with the police and our children covered beautifully and positively by the local news: Click Here to go to the Channel 2 WSB News Clip
You'll LOVE what our young man says at the end. :) |
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Legacy Community Housing Corporation--13 years At Shamrock Gardens apartments
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Imagine a quality affordable housing provider engaging daily with its residents, partnering meaningfully with all levels of law enforcement, creating unique community partnerships with other for-profit and not-for-profit stakeholders. Imagine this being done with an achievable goal of re-building a community from the inside out. Imagine others seeing this happen and then feeling empowered to improve conditions in their environment. Imagine an affordable housing provider taking the lead to transform a community while lessening the burden of its county taxpayers in resolving some of the communities’ most pressing and chronic issues.
This is what has been accomplished at Shamrock Gardens Apartment Homes located in Southwest Atlanta, Georgia.
Revitalizing Shamrock Gardens was not easy. In 2006, before LCHC ownership, Shamrock Gardens faced serious problems. It was a distressed, and arguably the highest-crime multi-family development within a one-mile radius, damaging residents’ lives and contributing to the surrounding neighborhoods’ decline. It was owned by the governmental agency Fannie Mae. Upon securing the property from Fannie Mae, an ambitious crime prevention plan was launched by then-owner Brent Sobol. Within three years time, Brent saw the need for expanding the impact and creating sustainability of what he termed a "Re-building Communities" strategy -- and thus, in 2009, Legacy Community Housing Corporation was born out of the successes at Shamrock Gardens.
Engaging people and developing relationships with the Atlanta Police Department and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Fulton County Juvenile Justice System, and with other law enforcement agencies resulted in a quantifiable, successful enforcement of the law. The end result has been and continues to be greatly increased safety of both residents of the Shamrock Gardens Property and individuals living in the surrounding neighborhoods that comprise the local community.
Legacy Community Housing Corporation at Shamrock Gardens (affectionately known as Legacy Shamrock) serves as an open example of what can be achieved in urban, low wealth, densely built housing. Its affordable housing with a crime prevention focus is creating an urban model for the Southeast region of our nation.
In addition to its crime prevention focus, the property has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation to improve living conditions for residents. All of the units have been updated for energy efficiency to reduce utility costs, promoting economic and environmental sustainability.
Additional improved quality of life amenities included: 1. a community center that is used daily by a variety of users, ranging from residents, program providers, and community stakeholders; 2. two renovated playgrounds; 3. superior quality landscaping; 4. a state licensed, renovated onsite early childhood development center - Inspiration Station Academy - that provides sliding scale fees and a focus on education. (Known as “The Academy”, the center holds up to 82 children from infants to after school-age children, and serves the surrounding neighborhoods/local community.); and 5. a full-time Residents Service Coordinator who creates collaborative partnerships with other community-based programs to provide comprehensive prevention and intervention treatment services/support systems.
Out of its partnership with the Atlanta Police Department's Zone 4 Crime Prevention Inspectors, Legacy Community Housing Corporation was honored to host the first ever Atlanta-wide kick-off of National Night Out in August 2014.
This is what has been accomplished at Shamrock Gardens Apartment Homes located in Southwest Atlanta, Georgia.
Revitalizing Shamrock Gardens was not easy. In 2006, before LCHC ownership, Shamrock Gardens faced serious problems. It was a distressed, and arguably the highest-crime multi-family development within a one-mile radius, damaging residents’ lives and contributing to the surrounding neighborhoods’ decline. It was owned by the governmental agency Fannie Mae. Upon securing the property from Fannie Mae, an ambitious crime prevention plan was launched by then-owner Brent Sobol. Within three years time, Brent saw the need for expanding the impact and creating sustainability of what he termed a "Re-building Communities" strategy -- and thus, in 2009, Legacy Community Housing Corporation was born out of the successes at Shamrock Gardens.
Engaging people and developing relationships with the Atlanta Police Department and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Fulton County Juvenile Justice System, and with other law enforcement agencies resulted in a quantifiable, successful enforcement of the law. The end result has been and continues to be greatly increased safety of both residents of the Shamrock Gardens Property and individuals living in the surrounding neighborhoods that comprise the local community.
Legacy Community Housing Corporation at Shamrock Gardens (affectionately known as Legacy Shamrock) serves as an open example of what can be achieved in urban, low wealth, densely built housing. Its affordable housing with a crime prevention focus is creating an urban model for the Southeast region of our nation.
In addition to its crime prevention focus, the property has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation to improve living conditions for residents. All of the units have been updated for energy efficiency to reduce utility costs, promoting economic and environmental sustainability.
Additional improved quality of life amenities included: 1. a community center that is used daily by a variety of users, ranging from residents, program providers, and community stakeholders; 2. two renovated playgrounds; 3. superior quality landscaping; 4. a state licensed, renovated onsite early childhood development center - Inspiration Station Academy - that provides sliding scale fees and a focus on education. (Known as “The Academy”, the center holds up to 82 children from infants to after school-age children, and serves the surrounding neighborhoods/local community.); and 5. a full-time Residents Service Coordinator who creates collaborative partnerships with other community-based programs to provide comprehensive prevention and intervention treatment services/support systems.
Out of its partnership with the Atlanta Police Department's Zone 4 Crime Prevention Inspectors, Legacy Community Housing Corporation was honored to host the first ever Atlanta-wide kick-off of National Night Out in August 2014.
Legacy Shamrock expanded its support services and early learning initiatives in meeting the needs of its resident community and the surrounding neighborhoods by actively working to build partnerships and grant funding opportunities.
All of this is now possible for Southwest Atlanta out of Legacy Community Housing Corporation's leadership in the area of sustainable affordable housing in the Atlanta Metropolitan Region. Legacy sold this concept community in 2019 but the positive impact of 13 years of ownership and management remains.
All of this is now possible for Southwest Atlanta out of Legacy Community Housing Corporation's leadership in the area of sustainable affordable housing in the Atlanta Metropolitan Region. Legacy sold this concept community in 2019 but the positive impact of 13 years of ownership and management remains.
