Auburn Avenue, December 11, 2024. Photo by King Williams/The Atlanta VoiceOne of the last remaining historic Auburn Avenue commercial buildings will be getting a new lease on life. The landmark 229 Auburn Avenue building, home of Atlanta State Savings Bank, the first Black-owned bank in Atlanta and the first chartered Black-owned bank in Georgia, will be reincorporated into a new mixed-use development.The redevelopment project is part of a larger initiative called Sweet Auburn Grande, a revitalization effort of a block of historic properties led by developer Gorman & Co in partnership with the Butler Street Community Development Corporation. The project will reimagine a long-blighted section of Auburn Avenue and Jesse Hill Jr. Drive.229 Auburn Avenue was first constructed in 1908. It housed several different black-owned and operated businesses for decades including Atlanta Life Insurance, the company founded by Atlanta’s first black millionaire and philanthropist, Alonzo Herndon. Atlanta Life Insurance was the second and most successful business venture of Herndon after his first stint as an owner of a chain of high-end barber shops was destroyed in the 1906 Race Massacre. Photo by King Williams/The Atlanta VoiceHerndon’s ability to underwrite and protect Black-owned businesses after the massacre led to restabilization of Black Atlanta in addition to Auburn Avenue’s evolution into what would be eventually considered the richest negro street in America by the 1950s. The site has been mostly vacant for sixteen years after a 2008 tornado destroyed the Herndon Building, the largest Black-owned office building in Atlanta which encompassed most of the block. That 2008 tornado’s destruction left only a few buildings remaining, including the current Butler Street YMCA and 229 Auburn Avenue. The 229 Auburn Avenue redevelopment is part of a larger project that will see several additional sites redeveloped by Gorman and Butler Street CDC including the historic Butler Street YMCA and Walden Building next door, as well as an upgraded parklet in front of the John Lewis mural across the street. Auburn Avenue will also see new projects emerge such as the revamp of the Odd Fellows building across the street and The Front Porch on Auburn project happening a few blocks away. The redevelopment of 229 Auburn Avenue is the first phase of the overall Sweet Auburn Grande project and is slated to be completed by 2026.The post Former Atlanta Life Building Gets New Lease On Life  appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.