Would you invest in West Side, Atlanta, GA?

[Srinivas Mudireddy]

Hi,

I came across a property recently in Washington Park, Atlanta right on Joseph E Boone. Initially I thought it might be a good deal given that it is right in the beltline zone. Reading further on Sub Area 10 Master Plan, I found that there is a plan for MARTA station and streetscape on Boone. I also heard that Arthur Blank is investing lot of money on redeveloping West Side.

But once I dig further, I found from articles on NYTimes and Curbed that

1. 1. English Avenue & Vine City are the two of the poorest neighborhoods in Southeast US and that there are lot of vacant properties, drug dealing  and crime
2. 2. Arthur Blank is investing only 20 to 40 Million which doesn't seem enough to change a neighborhood

I also don't see many sales in this neighborhood in last 12 months and few properties listed for > 200K are in the market for few months.

All of this makes me think that, this neighborhood is still not turning yet. Am I correct? What do locals think? Is it on the verge of turning or to be avoided?

Thanks for your time and appreciate your feedback.

-Srinivas