Atlanta Seniors Fighting Their Displacement in Old 4th Ward

Wheat Street Towers is a Senior High Rise that's provided an affordable housing option for Senior Citizens in the Old 4th Ward for decades. in the last five years Old 4th Ward has gone from affordable to being the most expensive place in the city to find housing. many of the tenants of Wheat Street towers participated in the civil rights movement of the 60's. The marched, they traveled to DC, they shed blood, sweat, and tears for their freedom.


Now their fighting to remain in the community they love and live in acceptable living conditions. We have had the pleasure and privilege to work alongside Wheat Street tenants for the last few months and have experienced many of the conditions that cause them concern and the lack of communication between tenants and the owners of the complex.



The HUD contract is set to expire this year, which means the subsidies that make Wheat Street affordable could no longer be available. The tenants demands are very simple; they want an improved quality of life, they want to remain in the community they love, and they want to know the intentions of the owners. Because of the depth of the infrastructure issue with the building it's clear that there will have to be temporary displacement in order for the building to be fixed to code and quality of life measures that our senior citizens deserve. Tenants want it in writing that their moving expenses will be covered and they will all have the right to return to their homes and enjoy renovations.

Today we delivered a petitions signed by almost every tenant to HUD southeastern HG in Atlanta. We were extremely honored to be joined by State Senator Vincent Fort as we prepared to deliver the petition.

It's our hope that the owners will soon sign a new 20 year HUD contract and make their renovations plans and temporary reelection plans clear and i writing. Our senior citizens deserve to live in quality conditions and enjoy the twilight of their lives instead of being put in a position of stress and confusion about their living situation. We will continue to work alongside tenant leaders until their demands our met. 


Today we are asking allies to send a message to the owners of the building to encourage them to do right by our seniors. You can email the owners at wheatst_foundation@yahoo.com