Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation
Encyclopedia
Resources for Residents and Communities of Georgia (RRC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development corporation
founded in 1989 as Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation with the initial mission of revitalizing the Reynoldstown
community in Atlanta, Georgia, United States
. RRC creates sustainable communities
through knowledge sharing, community building, housing and economic opportunities with residents at the center of our effort. Since it was founded in 1989, RRC has expanded to offer its holistic model and services to other communities across the Metro Atlanta
area. RRC currently has four primary business lines: Housing Development
; Property Management
, Community Building, and the HomeOwnership Center.
, rehabilitation of existing housing, assisting existing businesses and new businesses, supporting community associations, providing financial and homebuyer education, encouraging positive out-of-school activities for youth, etc. RRC seeks to upgrade living conditions in communities, but most importantly empower the residents to achieve these goals themselves through organizing and human capacity building. RRC seeks to restore neighborhoods to a family of communities supported by and supportive of their neighbors, while developing a model for others to follow. RRC also seeks to create self-sufficient communities.
a program sponsored by the Atlanta University School of Social Work
and the
Atlanta Urban League. This was during the time when the city was segregated and
voting rights were denied to African Americans. The main objective of the League
was to involve the community in the political and voting process. The first goal of the
League was to get all the residents registered to vote. The second was to get youth
to participate in character building activities. The organization met monthly on a local
level but also met various times with other local leagues to discuss projects,
activities and/or strategies. Every third Sunday all of the local leagues met with
coordinators from Atlanta University and the Urban League.
Early league activities in the neighborhood included: 1) motivating interest in public
issues, 2) sponsoring programs to enlighten the residents, 3) increasing voter
registration and 4) petitioning the Atlanta Board of Education to construct an
elementary school
in the community. As an outcome of 4), property was purchased
and the I.P. Reynolds School was constructed and opened in 1958. This was a great
boost to the neighborhood because it served as an enhancement to curtail school
dropout and as a neighborhood center for functions.
After a period of inactivity, the League was reorganized as the Reynoldstown Civic
Improvement League and chartered in June 1974. The reorganized League was
under the leadership of Mrs. Mattie Griffin. Activities during this period included 1)
installation of streetlights for added security, 2) traffic light installed at Moreland
Avenue and Wylie Street, 3) secured Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
(MARTA
) bus services to the neighborhood, 4) school crosswalks and safety zones
placed at streets leading to I.P. Reynolds School, and 5) petitioning for improved
police protection.
Under the leadership of Mr. Young Hughley Sr., the League 1) secured funds to
build a neighborhood park and recreation center, 2) sought housing for community
functions, 3) operated a “thrift store,” 4) sponsored the Reynoldstown Community
Festival,
5) published a neighborhood newsletter, and 6) sponsored a clean up campaign.
Other past presidents were Mrs. Corrine E. Lang, Mr. James R. Hightower and Mr.
Lewis Holmes Sr. Other important events included lobbying to curtail the toll road by
the Georgia Department of Transportation, which would have been built through
Reynoldstown, leveling many of its homes and destroying the neighborhood; filing
suit against MARTA to curtail widening of streets and destroying several houses;
lobbying for the Reynoldstown MARTA station; and, as an ongoing process, working
with the C.S.X. Railroad project to monitor the purchase of property for this project.
The Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation (RRC) is an outgrowth of the Civic
Improvement League. In the late 1980s, the League was considering becoming a
Community Development Corporation
(CDC) to receive available monies for
technical assistance and operating funds for neighborhood redevelopment. The
League asked Young Hughley Sr.’s son, Young Hughley Jr., to research the
feasibility of becoming such an organization. After visiting similar groups in other
parts of the country with Hattie Dorsey of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development
Partnership (ANDP), Young Hughley Jr. recommended that the new organization
take a holistic approach.
His recommendation was that the organization should be involved with more than
just housing, and address economic development
, leadership development and the
overall health of the neighborhood—everything that makes up a vigorous
community. Thereafter, Young Hughley Jr. was asked to head the organization, and
he continues in that role today.
Community Development Corporation
Community Development Corporation is a broad term referring to not-for-profit organizations incorporated to provide programs, offer services and engage in other activities that promote and support community development. CDCs usually serve a geographic location such as a neighborhood or a town....
founded in 1989 as Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation with the initial mission of revitalizing the Reynoldstown
Reynoldstown
Reynoldstown is a historic neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located between the Cabbagetown and Edgewood neighborhoods, north of Memorial Drive...
community in Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. RRC creates sustainable communities
Sustainable community
Sustainable communities are communities planned, built, or modified to promote sustainable living. This may include sustainability aspects relating to reproduction...
through knowledge sharing, community building, housing and economic opportunities with residents at the center of our effort. Since it was founded in 1989, RRC has expanded to offer its holistic model and services to other communities across the Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta
The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...
area. RRC currently has four primary business lines: Housing Development
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
; Property Management
Property management
Property management is the operation, control of ususally on behalf of an owner, and oversight of commercial, industrial or residential real estate as used in its most broad terms. Management indicates a need to be cared for, monitored and accountability given for its usable life and condition...
, Community Building, and the HomeOwnership Center.
Mission and vision
RRC's mission is to create sustainable communities through knowledge sharing, community building, housing and economic opportunities with residents at the center of our effort. The RRC way is a unique, holistic approach to community development that supports residents as well as the physical and spiritual components of community. This can be achieved by providing affordable housingAffordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
, rehabilitation of existing housing, assisting existing businesses and new businesses, supporting community associations, providing financial and homebuyer education, encouraging positive out-of-school activities for youth, etc. RRC seeks to upgrade living conditions in communities, but most importantly empower the residents to achieve these goals themselves through organizing and human capacity building. RRC seeks to restore neighborhoods to a family of communities supported by and supportive of their neighbors, while developing a model for others to follow. RRC also seeks to create self-sufficient communities.
History
The Reynoldstown Civic Improvement League (RCIL) was organized in 1952 undera program sponsored by the Atlanta University School of Social Work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
and the
Atlanta Urban League. This was during the time when the city was segregated and
voting rights were denied to African Americans. The main objective of the League
was to involve the community in the political and voting process. The first goal of the
League was to get all the residents registered to vote. The second was to get youth
to participate in character building activities. The organization met monthly on a local
level but also met various times with other local leagues to discuss projects,
activities and/or strategies. Every third Sunday all of the local leagues met with
coordinators from Atlanta University and the Urban League.
Early league activities in the neighborhood included: 1) motivating interest in public
issues, 2) sponsoring programs to enlighten the residents, 3) increasing voter
registration and 4) petitioning the Atlanta Board of Education to construct an
elementary school
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
in the community. As an outcome of 4), property was purchased
and the I.P. Reynolds School was constructed and opened in 1958. This was a great
boost to the neighborhood because it served as an enhancement to curtail school
dropout and as a neighborhood center for functions.
After a period of inactivity, the League was reorganized as the Reynoldstown Civic
Improvement League and chartered in June 1974. The reorganized League was
under the leadership of Mrs. Mattie Griffin. Activities during this period included 1)
installation of streetlights for added security, 2) traffic light installed at Moreland
Avenue and Wylie Street, 3) secured Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
(MARTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...
) bus services to the neighborhood, 4) school crosswalks and safety zones
placed at streets leading to I.P. Reynolds School, and 5) petitioning for improved
police protection.
Under the leadership of Mr. Young Hughley Sr., the League 1) secured funds to
build a neighborhood park and recreation center, 2) sought housing for community
functions, 3) operated a “thrift store,” 4) sponsored the Reynoldstown Community
Festival,
5) published a neighborhood newsletter, and 6) sponsored a clean up campaign.
Other past presidents were Mrs. Corrine E. Lang, Mr. James R. Hightower and Mr.
Lewis Holmes Sr. Other important events included lobbying to curtail the toll road by
the Georgia Department of Transportation, which would have been built through
Reynoldstown, leveling many of its homes and destroying the neighborhood; filing
suit against MARTA to curtail widening of streets and destroying several houses;
lobbying for the Reynoldstown MARTA station; and, as an ongoing process, working
with the C.S.X. Railroad project to monitor the purchase of property for this project.
The Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation (RRC) is an outgrowth of the Civic
Improvement League. In the late 1980s, the League was considering becoming a
Community Development Corporation
Community Development Corporation
Community Development Corporation is a broad term referring to not-for-profit organizations incorporated to provide programs, offer services and engage in other activities that promote and support community development. CDCs usually serve a geographic location such as a neighborhood or a town....
(CDC) to receive available monies for
technical assistance and operating funds for neighborhood redevelopment. The
League asked Young Hughley Sr.’s son, Young Hughley Jr., to research the
feasibility of becoming such an organization. After visiting similar groups in other
parts of the country with Hattie Dorsey of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development
Partnership (ANDP), Young Hughley Jr. recommended that the new organization
take a holistic approach.
His recommendation was that the organization should be involved with more than
just housing, and address economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
, leadership development and the
overall health of the neighborhood—everything that makes up a vigorous
community. Thereafter, Young Hughley Jr. was asked to head the organization, and
he continues in that role today.