Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. recently celebrated another investment in high-quality education for the Westside and bright futures for children on this side of the city. Many community and financial partners came together to provide the resources to make Woodson Park Academy a reality and a symbol of opportunity, empowerment, and equity for Grove Park. AEMI’s New Markets Tax Credit program supported Woodson Park academy with a $15 million allocation.

Woodson Park Academy will be a 115,000-square-foot, 900-seat K-8 public school serving 900 students. KIPP Metro Atlanta to operate the neighborhood school, which will be open to all students in the Woodson Park Academy zone. The 23,000-square-foot YMCA and 2,500-square-foot community health facility be a beacon for brighter futures, as well as a community and neighborhood hub and a central component of larger revitalization and economic mobility effort in Grove Park and Westside neighborhoods. 

It will also help to further activate the Donald Lee Hallowell commercial corridor. The academy is expected to provide 120 jobs and includes a $37 million capital investment – which, in turn, will make a $52.1 million economic impact for the community.

A project like this is rooted in inclusive development and economic mobility meant to ensure that economic resources are provided to communities where they can make a meaningful and even life-changing difference for residents. With support from APS, YMCA, Grove Park Foundation, KIPP, Purpose Built Communities, SunTrust, Bank of America and Atlanta Emerging Markets, this facility is a model, not only in Atlanta but nationally, for what can be accomplished when best-in-class partners come together to make a positive, lasting impact for the community.