HOW T.I. HARRIS OPENS AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING 25 APARTMENTS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN! (1513 hits)
For Immediate Release From T.I. Harris!
"T.I. Celebrates The Opening Of His First Affordable Housing Development In His Hometown Of Atlanta!"
T.I. has kept his word on a promise to his city.
As previously reported by AFROTECH, during a 2022 interview on podcast “Earn Your Leisure,” the Atlanta, GA, rapper spoke about his mission to create a real estate development that would provide affordable housing in the area known as Bankhead, where he grew up.
“With gentrification, 95 percent of the people who work in Atlanta can’t afford to live in Atlanta because the natives of the community, they’ve been pushed out by big people who come in with the big developments,” T.I. told hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Milling at the time. “Our grandparents and great-grandparents, the houses they worked hard to own for decades, now they can’t afford to pay the taxes. They lose their houses. Now we are living on the outskirts of the city. That changes a lot of things within the infrastructure of the city — whether that’s politics, it changes the culture.” He added, “So, we have to make sure that the people who made this city and the culture of this city what it is, still have a place in this city and can afford to stay there. Somebody has to be a part of that charge.”
Now, a year later, his plan for change has officially come to fruition.
On Nov. 14, 2023, Fox 5 Atlanta reports that T.I. was joined by Mayor Andre ****ens and more at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for his first affordable housing complex. Located in the Intrada building on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, the complex consists of 140 units. What’s more, it’s a community effort with a partnership including the city of Atlanta, T.I.’s Briarhouse Holdings, and the Vecino Group.
During the ceremony, T.I. recalled a story from his upbringing in the Atlanta neighborhood.
“I’m going to tell y’all a secret,” he said, per the outlet. “Don’t tell nobody. I got caught stealing from this Kmart. 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.”
In addition to the Intrada building, Mayor ****ens shared that for over the past two years, Atlanta has built 3,200 affordable homes. An additional 5,000 are on the way with the overall mission being to create 20,000 affordable housing units.
T.I. opens affordable housing development units in Atlanta
T.I. continues to give back to give back to the areas that he grew up in in his hometown of Atlanta, in major ways. On Tuesday, the legendary rapper officially opened his first affordable housing development units.
As a result, 143 apartment units were made available, on the northwest side of Atlanta. Moreover, 25 units are also being used for homeless youth in the area. These are all located across from Center Hill Park. Developers of these units also revealed that this property used to be a shopping center, where T.I.’s grandmother used to shop for her groceries.
“The arts and entertainment industry in this city has been able to collaborate and, I guess, be profitable enough to offer the community so many things that are much needed,” said T.I. to WSB-TV 2 in Atlanta, regarding the opening of these units.
