The developer of an upscale mixed-use project has recast his marketing materials with pictures of a more diverse crowd after an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution detailed the outcry over gentrification on social media over the weekend.
In a previous version of a brochure for a development called Quarry Yards, the slogan “A Community Created For The New Atlanta” was superimposed on a picture of people in a conference room who were all white.
Quarry Yards is a 70-acre development slated to be built in one of the city’s oldest African-American communities, and the brochure reignited a debate about legacy residents being displaced for large luxury developments built for young professionals.
Matt Westmoreland, an Atlanta City Council Member, remarked on Facebook that the brochure “showed a luxury development that is economically out of reach for most who call this city home.”
"Virtually all of those pictured in the marketing materials are white — even though the surrounding communities along Hollowell Parkway have been Black for generations," Westmoreland said.
The online brochure also drew a rebuke from Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ office.
Mark Teixeira, co-founder of Urban Creek Partners and a former Atlanta Braves first baseman, wrote in a letter on Monday that he had devoted his time and energy to supporting organizations that help at-risk youth.
“To have a small group of people attack Quarry Yards and Urban Creek Partners over a misconstrued phrase is not only hurtful, but is counterproductive in a community that we are trying to help build up through economic development, new opportunities and added support of many local nonprofit foundations and community organizations,” Teixeira said.
But on Tuesday, the online brochure was updated.
Instead of a conference room filled with white people, there was a picture of a young African-American woman who was standing and talking to four seated white people looking up to her.
The “New Atlanta” phrase had been replaced with “A Destination Created for One Atlanta.”
“One Atlanta” is the title of a new city office with a stated purpose of promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion that Bottoms established soon after taking office.
Bottoms’ office had no comment on the revised marketing. Neither did Westmoreland.
Quarry Yards sits near the Bankhead MARTA station, and plans call for 1,750 housing units, 1,875,000-square feet of office space and 175,000 square feet of retail.
The brochure on Tuesday was also updated with the developer’s promise to provide homes at below market rate prices.
“Urban Creek Partners is committed to providing at least 15% affordable multifamily units at various levels across Quarry Yards,” it now says.
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