Overhaul Planned for Trestletree Village Apartments

One of the longstanding — and hoped-for — redevelopment rumors in Southeast Atlanta has been an overhaul of Trestletree Village.

The apartment complexes — there's Trestletree North at 794 Ormewood Ave. SE in Grant Park and Trestletree South at 904 Confederate Court SE in Ormewood Park — have long been the ire of the two neighborhoods.

But a Denver-based, multifamily housing developer with a niche in low-income and Section 8 properties, wants to overhaul the 188-unit Trestletree Village properties.

And to do that makeover, Community Housing Concepts Inc., which has properties in Cuthbert, Ga., Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky and a handful of other states, is seeking the city's help.

On Thursday, Invest Atlanta, the city's economic development arm, will meet to discuss the Community Housing Concepts project, and the Urban Residential Finance Authority proposal to issue up to $15.6 million in bonds to put toward it.

The money would be used to offset the total cost that is expected to be associated with the project, which Community Housing Concepts pegs at $22.8 million.

That price tag includes acquisition, setting aside funds for an operating reserve and other expenses.

Construction, which would start sometime next year, would take 12 months to complete.

What will happen to the current residents during the refurbishing is not immediately clear, but the properties are to remain low-income rentals when complete.

Homeowners near the two Trestletree Village complexes have complained they're hotbeds of criminal activity.

Earlier this year, for example, there was a shootout at the Ormewood Park complex — believed to be over a dice game — in which two rival groups shot at each other. A woman ended up being grazed by a bullet.

And the Grant Park neighborhood, in response to that shooting as well other crimes, formed its own neighborhood watch to be more proactive.

Representatives from both neighborhoods, have met with Trestletree Village management over the years, as well as Atlanta City Councilwoman Carla Smith, whose District 1 includes Grant Park and Ormewood Park, to express their concerns.

In fact, Smith held a meeting earlier this year with Maj. Keith Meadows, commander of the Atlanta Police Department's Zone 6 and Trestletree management to discuss how to mitigate neighbors' concerns.