On a clear morning in English Avenue, community members, partners, and leaders gathered to mark an important milestone — the official opening of 839 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and 646 Echo Street, two new deeply affordable housing communities on Atlanta’s historic Westside.
Together, these developments deliver 57 high-quality, affordable homes, ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, alongside neighborhood-serving retail space designed to support local entrepreneurship. Built on formerly vacant and blighted land, the projects represent more than new buildings — they reflect years of intentional planning, partnership, and commitment to a guiding principle that has shaped Westside Future Fund’s work from the beginning: restoration without displacement.
“839 Boone and 646 Echo reflect a clear commitment to restoration without displacement,” said John Ahmann, President & CEO of Westside Future Fund. “Shaped by community priorities and intentional planning, this work supports housing stability for legacy residents while advancing a future-ready Westside.”
More Than Housing: Community Development at Work
These developments mark a first for Westside Future Fund — our first new-build, multifamily affordable housing communities — but housing alone is not the story.
Housing is one tool in the broader work of community development among many, which also include land stewardship, economic opportunity, homeownership pathways, and long-term neighborhood stability. WFF’s signature housing initiative, Home on the Westside, is designed to support generational legacy and ensure residents can remain and thrive as investment returns to the Westside.
Powered by Partnership
This work is made possible through sustained public-private partnership and a shared commitment to long-term, community-centered investment. Support from the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office, Atlanta City Council, and investment through the Westside Tax Allocation District (TAD) helped catalyze visible restoration — from affordable housing and neighborhood-serving retail to parks and greenspaces — while prioritizing residents with deep, legacy connections to the Westside.
We are deeply grateful to the many partners who made these developments possible. Special thanks to OaksATL for their meaningful contributions to 646 Echo Street and continued commitment to families and stability on the Westside. Major philanthropic support was provided by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, which supported 839 Boone Boulevard, and the James M. Cox Foundation, which supported 646 Echo Street. Additional investment came through the WFF Impact Fund, with participation from Chick-fil-A, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Cox Enterprises, Georgia Power, Equifax, Holder Construction, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Truist.
Together, these partnerships reflect what’s possible when institutions choose to invest with intention — and for the long term — in people, place, and shared progress.
Guided by Community Vision
Both developments align directly with the Westside Land Use Framework, a community-driven roadmap created with resident input to guide equitable growth across the historic Westside. The framework emphasizes thoughtful density, walkability, mixed-use development, and long-term affordability — ensuring that new investment strengthens existing communities rather than displacing them.
“This is what intentional growth looks like,” Ahmann noted. “When development follows a community-defined vision, it reinforces stability, opportunity, and belonging.”
What Was Built — and Why It Matters
839 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard delivers 33 affordable apartment homes serving households earning approximately 30–80% of Area Median Income, paired with ground-floor commercial space. This mixed-use model intentionally links housing stability with economic mobility, creating new opportunities for local entrepreneurs. Attendees at the ribbon cutting were able to see the spaces in action with pop-ups from LaRaiya’s Bodega and Chilly-O Art, both owned by Westside residents.
By pairing affordable housing with local business ownership, 839 Boone helps lay the groundwork for neighborhood vitality that is owned, shaped, and sustained by the community itself.
Just steps away, 646 Echo Street offers 24 affordable apartment homes, also serving households earning approximately 30–80% of Area Median Income. Designed with comfort, walkability, and connection in mind, these homes allow individuals and families to benefit from new investment while remaining rooted in the Westside.
One Milestone in a Larger Chapter
While the ribbon cutting marks a significant achievement, it is not an endpoint.
The opening of 839 Boone and 646 Echo is part of a broader continuum of work unfolding across the Westside — including progress toward reopening the historic Yellow Store as a community anchor, ongoing development efforts at 390 Sunset and Oliver + North, and a long-term vision that balances housing, opportunity, and preservation.
“We are far from mission accomplished,” Ahmann said. “But we are at a point of real acceleration. Over the next decade, you’re going to see more thriving neighborhoods across the Westside — and today is one indication that the momentum is real.”
As tours concluded and the ribbon was cut, the moment reflected what’s possible when community, philanthropy, public partners, and residents move forward together — with intention, care, and a shared commitment to restoration without displacement.