MARCH 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 3

AROUND THE COUNTRY
APTS. FOR RECRUITS
City of Atlanta opens new, first if its kind, apartment
complex for new police cadets.
By Wilborn P. Nobles III
ATLANTA — Atlanta police
recruits have a new place to call
home after officials celebrated
the opening of the Unity Place
åuse at least 30 officers in training.
It is located at 744 North
Ave., in the English Avenue community.
City officials call the complex
the first of its kind nationwide.
They consider it a proactive form
of community policing in an area
that was once riddled with so
much crime and disinvestment
that it was derogatively called
“The Bluff.”
But Byron Amos, the new city
councilmember for the area,
praised the new facility as the
latest of several transformative
developments in the English Avenue
and Vine City communities.
“Three or four years ago, this
was an old rundown apartment
complex that the city acquired,”
said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
“And here we are right
now...Having a place where cadets
can live.”
The building offers cadets
1-to-4-bedroom units on a
first-come, first-served basis
during their
weeks-long
process of
training. It
has three
floors and
a basement-level
lounge that
will be filled
with gym
equipment,
and furniture
to provide
space
for community meetings.
Seven recruits moved into the
building last night and more will
come later this month, said Karen
Rogers, director of development
and community programs
for the Atlanta Police Foundation.
She said the facility would
have cost $7 million to build, but
several developers did the work
pro bono.
After the city’s ribbon-cutting
ceremony, some of the recruits
toured the apartment for the first
time.
Atlanta Police Foundation
President & CEO Dave Wilkinson
said his organization is also
working with the city and developers
to build up to 50 houses
for the city officers by year’s end.
So far, 25 houses are built or
under construction, and he said
the officers living in them can
receive up to a $500 monthly
stipend by participating in community
events. when they report
how often they’ve participated in
events in their community.
Thelma Reneau, a lifelong English
Avenue resident and treasurer
of the neighborhood association,
said she’s thrilled to see
more officers in the community.
“I’m gonna get to know them,”
said Reneau, 75. “I bake cakes, so
I’m gonna bring them cakes and
cupcakes.”
24 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 25