- Four single-family homes will be built on Stevens Street, with prices set to remain affordable.
- The project includes front porches, honoring the area's rich history of social connection.
- Watch the video to learn how this initiative is transforming the neighborhood.
BROADCAST SCRIPT
Neighbors here on Stevens Street tell me they're ready to see their community thrive again.
"It's a lot of history, it's a lot of history, it's a lot of history. If you had time, I can tell you everything and the people and I can tell you all about everything," said Mitchell.
I'm tracking how plans for affordable housing aim to bring new life to this area.
Stevens Street has a rich history, but the signs of neglect are clear—vacant lots, crumbling homes, and a need for revitalization.
Neighbors here know all about the stories behind these streets.
"First Black mailman, we only had two black mailmen back then and he was one," said Mitchell.
Willie Mitchell, who grew up on Stevens Street, remembers when the neighborhood was full of life.
Now, Earl Williams, Executive Director of the Thomasville Community Development Corporation, is working to bring that vibrancy back by reclaiming properties and creating affordable housing.
"There was this big open property that we saw there, about a one-acre lot. I looked it up and the last time any house was built on the property was in 1920," said Williams.
Williams tells me his mission is clear: address the blighted housing that neighbors want gone.
With 40% of homes in some neighborhoods either vacant or dilapidated, the need is urgent.
"I knock on a lot of doors doing community engagement and talking to people, and the number one thing that people want to see go away is the blighted housing. They want those houses down or renovated and they want new houses put into those neighborhoods," said Williams.
For Mitchell, every ride through the neighborhood is a reminder of what's been lost—homes that once belonged to friends and families now sitting empty and decaying.
"I saw a lot of houses that I knew people that I grew up with. That's just sitting there, a lot of them falling down. So it's a great opportunity to see houses put back. It'll make the neighborhood vibrant again because now it's just dead," said Mitchell.
The plan includes building four single-family homes on a one-acre lot, each with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a price tag around $200,000 to keep them affordable.
Williams says these homes will also honor the neighborhood's history by including front porches.
"That's how people engaged with each other, so it's a very key aspect of social life is having a front porch, so we want to maintain that piece of it," said Williams.
The project begins this quarter with plans to finish in June.
Williams is also working to bring the Georgia Heirs Property Law Center to Thomasville to help neighbors protect their land and better plan for the future..
