SCENE
WELLNESS
Spreading pollen for life
Eyes on preventable illness
Information about butterflies and other pollinators will be offered at Rosalynn Carter’s Butterfly Trail Discovery Day on June 18. 4
Encouraging men to make their health a priority is the focus of Men’s Health Week, celebrated in the days leading up to Father’s Day. 7
Put Litter in Its Place Let’s Do Our Part to Keep DeKalb Beautiful
EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER
Copyright © 2016 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
June 11, 2016
Volume 22, Number 7
www.crossroadsnews.com
Muhammad Ali, ‘The Greatest of All Time,’ remembered Jan. 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016 Boxing great Muhammad Ali, who dazzled a generation with his athleticism, taunted his opponents with his rhymes, and left both men and women envious of his “beautiful” physique and face, was laid to rest June 9 and 10 at memorial services attended by thousands in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. Ali, the 20th century’s most significant sports figure, who declared that he could “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” died June 3 of septic shock at a hospital in Phoenix. He was undergoing treatment for a respiratory illness, associated with his 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, when it became clear that he would not recover. He was 74. His daughter Rasheda declared
Muhammad Ali, who began boxing at age 12, was an Olympic gold medalist at the 1960 Rome Games. Four years later, he defeated Sonny Liston and took the WBC and WBA heavyweight championships.
him finally free. “He is no longer suffering,” she said. Ali died surrounded by his wife of 30 years, Yolanda “Lonnie” Ali, and all nine of his children. He was eulogized June 9 at a Jenazah, a traditional Muslim funeral service, at Freedom Hall and at a June 10 public memorial service at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. He planned both services before his death. Ali’s longtime friends, former President Bill Clinton; comedian and actor Billy Crystal, who impersonated Ali in stand-up acts; and journalist Bryant Gumbel, were among speakers at the mePlease see ALI, page 2
Apartment complex proposed for Panthersville Developer seeks tax credits for 72-unit project
The Abbington Perimeter apartment complex is planned on a wooded site between Serenade Apartments and Pruitt Health on Panthersville Road in Decatur.
By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
A 6.5-acre wooded lot on Panthersville Road in Decatur could soon be home to dozens of families if a developer secures state tax credits for a 72-unit garden-style apartment project. Atlanta-based Rea Ventures Group LLC, which proposes to build the $13.7 million Abbington Perimeter apartment community, applied June 9 to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for housing tax credits to cover 80 percent of the development costs. If approved, the market rate and rentcontrolled apartments will be located at 3250 Panthersville Road, across from the Georgia Regional Hospital and near the Georgia Bureau of Investigation headquarters and the Perimeter campus of Georgia State University. Sean Brady, Rea Ventures Group’s vice president of development, said they will only proceed if they secure the tax-credit funding, but he said they stand a good chance of getting it because unincorporated Decatur has Sean Brady not received tax-credit funding in a while. “The last one was in 2006 for the Mercy Housing apartments on Flat Shoals Road,” he said. Abbington Perimeter will include 14 one-bedroom, 36 two-bedroom, and 22 three-bedroom units and will be professionally managed by Boyd Management, a 32-year-old company with a portfolio of 15,500 units in five states. The development is inspired by the 2007 Candler-Flat Shoals Livable Centers Initiative study that identified a need for quality housing for working families in the area.
Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews
Locally and nationally, Brady said the number of rent-burdened households – families who are paying more than a third of their income for rent – has nearly doubled from 25 percent in 1960 to 49 percent in 2013. “Rent burden leaves individuals or families with less money to save and less money to spend on goods and services,” he told three residents who attended a June 7 community meeting about the project at the New Life Community Center on Flat Shoals Road. Angela Sanders, who lives close to the proposed development, asked if Abbington Perimeter would be a Section 8 community. Brady said Abbington Perimeter would be a market-rate apartment community with rent controls – not a rent-subsidy com-
munity. He said that applicants will undergo rigorous background screening, including criminal, income and references. Legally, he said they cannot discriminate against anyone seeking housing and that all incomes, including a subsidy, will be considered during the application process. “For example, if a disabled vet has a subsidy, it will be considered but cannot be the sole income,” he said. Rea Ventures Group, which has developed housing from Texas to North Carolina over the past 40 years, has more than 2,600 work force housing units and 600 senior housing units in Georgia. Brady said only 4 percent of its residents use Section 8 vouchers. Drawing from Rea Ventures communities in Powder Springs, Rincon, Cordele and Brunswick, Brady said that their tenant mix
includes people who work in retail, education, clerical and administration positions; police/security; and retirees. “Our tenants are entry-level police officers, retail workers, teachers and so on,” he said. This week, the proposed site for the project had a for sale sign on it. Matt Monroe, Rea Ventures project manager, said Rea Ventures has a contract to purchase it contingent on the project’s Matt Monroe approval. Brady said the community will be built to green EnergyStar and EarthCraft design Please see APARTMENTS, page 2