The Beacon No. 13
The first goal of the Uptown Community Plan (which was created by and for residents and stakeholders) is: “Create fully occupied residential neighborhoods with a mix of incomes and ages, while preserving single-family homes, in which people share a sense of belonging.” This 2026 issue of the Beacon puts a spotlight on what the CRA and the community are doing to make sure this goal is fully implemented.
At his State of the City speech this year, Mayor Paul Young challenged our whole city to get behind the goal of 10,000 housing units in the next four years. While Single-Family Home Repair Director, Lisa Ivy, and her team are continuing to complete home repair after home repair in both the Uptown and Binghampton TIFs, the CRA and its partners are also tackling the rest of this goal, with construction scheduled to begin on a wide range of projects, led by Vivian Ekstrom, Director of Planning and Community Development and her team.
This range of housing options includes the newly completed Place of Grace, which Valencia Black can now call her home. Kenneth Perkins with AON Investments is bringing Veterans’ Housing in the Historic Porter Leath building, a key project of the Uptown Advisory Committee. The CRA kicked off the Smokey City Market mixed use project being constructed on the former grocery store and retail sites at Jackson and Decatur by developer Ernst Vallery along with the Works, Inc.
This year we have seen Charia Jackson, Director of Neighborhood Planning and Essential Housing lead a cohort of 18 (and growing) emerging developers constructing new housing throughout the Uptown and Binghampton TIFs. Developer Andre Harris, featured in this issue, along with developers Wayne Moody, Billy Irby, and Evaniel Johnson have already kicked off their home construction projects. CRA staff like Kenny Halt and Emma Turri have worked hard, along with local contractors, to clean up lots, bayous, streets, and brownfield sites to make way for all of this new housing. This year is one of construction and it is all thanks to you, the residents, who trust us with spending your tax dollars to implement your plan for your community.
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