As Atlanta’s unhoused population continues to rise, even as temperatures fell to near record-breaking lows in January, city leaders are identifying and developing innovative solutions to provide temporary housing for the unhoused.
One of the most recent housing for the unhoused announcements includes the conversion of the former athletic club at Wellstar’s Atlanta Medical Center into a temporary emergency shelter for unhoused residents.
In addition to a roof and a bed, the shelter will offer comprehensive medical and housing services to prepare residents to transition into permanent housing arrangements.
The city last week signed an agreement with Wellstar to use a portion of the familiar landmark, formerly known as Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward at the intersection of Parkway and Highland to provide shelter for the unhoused for 180 days.
Wellstar closed Atlanta Medical Center in November 2022. The health system company said at the time it was forced to close the 460-bed hospital after losing more than $100 million.
Since its closure, the buildings spanning Atlanta Medical Center’s 25-acre campus have been vacant. Dickens has issued numerous executive orders, approved by the City Council, banning redevelopment of the site. He has said he wants to make sure any new development on the property includes healthcare facilities.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told ABC the city is still “in negotiations and conversations” with Wellstar about its plans to sell the hospital. A smaller hospital could anchor a mixed-use development with housing and doctor’s office, he said.
In January Fulton County conducted its annual 2024 Point In Time Count, which provides a “snapshot” of homelessness in all Fulton County cities outside of Atlanta, the most recent numbers available from January 2023 indicated 337 unhoused individuals in 2023, although Fulton County officials recorded 337 homeless individuals in 2023, Fulton County Homeless Division Manager Dawn Butler says she believes the numbers are much higher.
The inaugural rapid housing initiative reportedly is one tenet of the City Of Atlanta’s goal of providing 20,000 affordable housing units in Atlanta by 2030.
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