Life on the Atlanta BeltLine is a video series where we tell the stories of people who have made the Atlanta BeltLine part of their every day lives. In this video, we hear from Ian, an Art on the Atlanta BeltLine artist who leveraged the homeownership repair program offered by Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. to replace his windows and roof. He lives in Adair Park, across the Westside Trail from our Urban Farm.
Ian’s involvement with the Atlanta BeltLine began with the inaugural season of Art on the Atlanta BeltLine. His collaborative work, “Wickerpus” by the Dodekapus Artist Collective, exhibited on the then-unpaved Eastside Trail under Freedom Parkway in 2010. The following year, Ian created his own piece – a geometric sculpture titled “Fustian Circumlocution” – that hung from the Piedmont Avenue bridge above the interim northeast trail.
Several years later, Ian bought his first home on the Atlanta BeltLine in Adair Park. The day of the closing, the house was uninhabitable. After gutting the interior of the home down to the studs and removing walls, Ian began to rebuild with his own custom design. Ian heard about Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.’s homeowner rehab program to assist residents along the Atlanta BeltLine in making the necessary repairs to keep their homes safe, warm, and dry. Ian applied and was awarded a grant for a new roof and new windows. Adair Park is an historic district, therefore the work done to Ian’s house complied with the historical standards.
Today, Ian and his wife are settled into their home overlooking the Westside Trail and urban farm from their back yard and Adair Park I from their front porch. They maintain a fruit and vegetable garden and keep a flock of chickens in a neat, clean pen. Catch a glimpse of Ian’s renovated home and garden in the photos below!
Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.’s owner-occupied rehab program has helped 14 homeowners and invested over $200,000 in Atlanta BeltLine neighborhoods. For more affordable housing stories, check out Nina’s story, Reynoldstown Senior Residences, and the Hodges story. For more information about current affordable housing programs offered by Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and our partners, please visit beltline.org/housing.
