The Historic District Development Corporation, known as HDDC, started out as a small group of volunteers building affordable housing in Sweet Auburn. Over 45 years it has grown into what Rough Draft Atlanta calls a powerhouse organization, one that has reshaped the neighborhood while keeping its historic character intact.
Its origins go back to 1980, when civil rights leaders Coretta Scott King, Christine King Farris and John Cox set out to restore the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic District, which many Atlantans know as Sweet Auburn. Their goal was to return it to the economically diverse and viable neighborhood where Rev. Dr. King was raised.
The tally since then: more than 120 single-family homes built or restored, 95 new businesses helped to launch, more than 400 new jobs, more than 30 local artists shown in the HDDC gallery, and more than 9,000 square feet of gardens added to the neighborhood. All of it, the article notes, happened with community members directly involved.
Keeping legacy residents from being displaced remains the organization's primary concern, though its work reaches well past housing. President and CEO Chenee Joseph told Rough Draft that advocating for Sweet Auburn matters not only to Atlanta but to the Deep South. "There are so many of our historically African American neighborhoods that are in danger of, essentially, extinction," she said. "We want to make sure that that never happens here."
Residents as co-developers
Joseph said HDDC has been in the neighborhood about as long as some of its longest-standing residents, and that history has built a rapport with them. None of its projects or initiatives happen in a silo, she said. "I like to call our residents our co-developers," Joseph said, likening the arrangement to a co-development agreement in which partners walk alongside each other for the full run of a project.
That approach shows in how projects move forward. When HDDC introduces a project such as Front Porch, it then goes to the community to ask what residents want to see from it and how it could best improve their lives in Sweet Auburn. Rough Draft describes Front Porch on Auburn, developed in partnership with HDDC, as a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use development with affordable housing and retail space, built in 2022.
Henderson Place and SAGE
At the time of the report, HDDC was working on the redevelopment of Henderson Place, a $20 million project in partnership with Mercy Housing. The plan turns a building from the 1950s into 76 apartment units, with a community food market on the ground level, and was scheduled for completion by July 2026.
The organization is also continuing its Sweet Auburn Green and Equitable initiative, or SAGE, an ongoing effort aimed at making the neighborhood self-sufficient and sustainable.
Balancing revitalization and preservation
Joseph said HDDC works to keep the neighborhood affordable for long-time residents in perpetuity, and she is direct about the pressure that comes with improvement. "Gentrification is very alive and well, and we'll take some responsibility for that because when you've improved a neighborhood, now people want to be here," she said. As she put it, the balance is protecting the area's history and culture while making sure it does not get left in the past.
The organization's reach could widen. Joseph says other communities have asked HDDC to replicate its Sweet Auburn work, but she says it will become involved only if residents there want it. "I don't believe in just showing up in neighborhoods," she said, adding that she wants HDDC to be invited by neighborhoods that recognize its work and see it as a source that can help them.
Information on getting involved and volunteering with HDDC is available at hddc.org.
Original reporting by Katie Burkholder for Rough Draft Atlanta.