New pathways of opportunity are coming to Atlanta’s Westside with the groundbreaking of local nonprofit City of Refuge’s Transformation Center, a 38,000-square-foot facility rising to meet critical gaps in economic, health and wellness services in the neighborhood. The project is the most significant initiative of the organization’s “Breaking Barriers. Building Momentum.” capital campaign, and is expected to open in fall 2025.  

Situated on the former American Legion lot at 1343 Joseph E. Boone Blvd, just a two-minute walk from City of Refuge’s campus, the $15,200,000 Transformation Center will feature three stories of thoughtful supportive services with the goal of improving access to the resources individuals and families need, as well as affordable housing.   

“With more than 25 years operating on Atlanta’s Westside, we have been blessed to serve more than 35,000 people. The Transformation Center will enable us to deepen our outreach into the community,” said Bruce Deel, founder and CEO of City of Refuge. “We are immensely grateful for the generosity of our partners as we reach this significant groundbreaking milestone and set in motion a key centerpiece of our capital campaign to help the individuals we champion everyday boldly reach their full potential and spur long-term change in their neighborhood.” 

The Transformation Center will focus on several areas that connect people with opportunities to thrive, including:  

• In a neighborhood where only 7.3% of the population is self-employed, the Entrepreneurship Hub will combat opportunity injustice by matching aspiring entrepreneurs in the community with key resources to begin the process of starting their own businesses. It will include a classroom, offices and a lab for idea-sharing and presentations, with an objective of training 100 potential entrepreneurs per year to create jobs and increase economic prosperity on Atlanta’s Westside. 

• To support the Health & Wellness of the community, the Transformation Center will feature a market or grocery store, in addition to a medical and mental health clinic on the center’s first floor to address ongoing health disparities in what can be considered a food desert.  

• Life Skills & Community Engagement opportunities will come in the form of financial literacy, parenting, nutrition and home buying classes, as well as a dedicated space for a wide range of community engagement activities. The financial literacy program will empower participants to understand paychecks, create personal budgets, pay off debts and save, and understand the importance of credit. 

• Building off financial literacy, an on-site credit union will function as a hub for Financial Services, providing increased financial security for households. It will help people establish and build a solid credit history, provide opportunities to insure loans and grow savings at no cost and offer significant flexibility for loan repayments. It will also provide micro-financing options for start-ups that graduate from the Entrepreneurship Hub. 

• In an effort to safeguard legacy residents from displacement, the Transformation Center will also feature Housing in the form of a 25-unit, new construction multifamily community adjacent to the main building. The residential building will include a mix of two and three bedroom units, in addition to one four-bedroom unit. Thirteen units will be at or below 30% AMI.  

Invest Atlanta will contribute a $2 million BeltLine Tax Allocation District (TAD) increment grant to help fund the 25 housing units at the Transformation Center in support of Mayor Dickens’ goal of creating or preserving 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030.  

"We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the City of Refuge that continues to close economic, social and wellness gaps in historically disinvested neighborhoods,” comments Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta. "Our BeltLine TAD investment in the Transformation Center in collaboration with great partners adds to the more than $118 million of Invest Atlanta investment in this area in the last five years.”

City of Refuge is also the recipient of a $3 million federal New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) through Atlanta Emerging Markets and Capital One, which aims to encourage development and economic growth in communities that have experienced disinvestment over the years. 

The affordable housing component of the Transformation Center also received funding support from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and TogetherATL.  

“The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is pleased to partner with City of Refuge to deliver a broad range of housing in a way that comprehensively meets the needs of current residents while ensuring affordability for at least two generations,” said Sarah Kirsch, Managing Director Housing Funds at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. “Through our TogetherATL Housing Funds, we are working with partners across the region to create more equitable outcomes for all residents with a particular focus on supporting deeper and longer terms of housing affordability than otherwise would be possible.” 

Launched in late 2022, the “Breaking Barriers. Building Momentum.” capital campaign quickly exceeded its original goal of raising $25 million, prompting City of Refuge to raise its goal to $33,125,000 that will enable the organization to provide expanded opportunities for men, women and children to escape poverty and thrive in the community.  

The organization is closing in on that new goal, allowing it to officially kick off efforts like the Transformation Center. Additional campaign initiatives include growing its portfolio of affordable housing, expanding tuition-free education services for students K-12, executing various improvements to its existing campus and cultivating a network of COR communities in cities across the country. 

Since the organization was founded in 1997, City of Refuge has transformed thousands of lives by providing the tools individuals and families need to break down barriers through a strategic mix of supportive services that target health & wellness, housing, vocational training and youth development. The nonprofit is headquartered on the Westside and has several satellite campuses across the country. 

For more information on the Transformation Center and City of Refuge’s capital campaign, visit cityofrefugeatl.org.