Central Atlanta Progress: Peachtree-Pine shelter has been successfully vacated

The old building at 477 Peachtree St. that’s been a source of sustenance for many—and the bane of entire neighborhoods’ existences—is a homeless shelter no longer.

Three months after assuming ownership of the former Peachtree-Pine Homeless Shelter, Central Atlanta Progress officials have issued a press release declaring the building vacated.

The property, located at the junction of downtown and Midtown, has been decried for years as being a poorly operated haven for crime and disease.

Now, according to CAP, 196 shelter residents have been transitioned into permanent living situations —that is, rapid rehousing and supportive housing “units” located in and around metro Atlanta.

“With the transition complete,” the release states, “the building will no longer serve as a shelter.”

The transition team was led by the United Way’s Regional Commission on Homelessness. All shelter residents had access to support services such as substance abuse counseling, work assistance, mental health services, and life-skills training, officials said.

After years of legal wrangling and talk of eminent domain, CAP reached a reported $10 million settlement with the shelter earlier this year and took control of the nearly 100,000-square-foot property in August. Word around the campfire is that developers were lined up shortly thereafter.

Regarding the property’s future, CAP provided only this: “Longterm plans for the building have not been determined.”

CAP officials saluted a variety of agencies throughout the metro and beyond—the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, Grady Hospital, Gateway Center, City of Refuge, and Homes of Light, among others—for helping smoothly pull off the transition.

• It’s official: Atlanta’s Peachtree-Pine shelter will close in August [Curbed]