Since the 1920s, the neighborhoods adjacent to the land purchased by Microsoft have been home almost exclusively to African-American residents. Nearly 100 percent of residents in the Grove Park neighborhood identify as black, about three times the Atlanta median, according to data from the Community Regional Commission’s Grove Park Neighborhood Assessment and Community Goals. Atlanta.

In recent decades, economic disinvestment in the area has left the neighborhood without even basic business resources like grocery stores and pharmacies. In 2018, the median family income in Grove Park was $23,000, and about half of all residents earned less than $25,000 per year (compared to less than a quarter of those in metro Atlanta) . Between 2010 and 2017, the neighborhood’s population decreased by almost 25 percent.

“The whole region is truly a food desert. The nearest grocery stores are more than 3 km away. When Microsoft came in, they said they would invest in the community, building a grocery store, affordable housing, and a bank and things like that. So the concern now is: what’s going to happen now that they’re on break? asks Arthur Toal, board president of the Howell Station Neighborhood Association, representing one of the neighborhoods near the development site.

“Property values ​​have already increased significantly, which is impacting people’s taxes. It’s already having an impact, but we don’t get the good things promised when something like this happens. It has a big impact on people in that regard,” he says.

The city and other residents emphasize that surrounding communities don’t see Microsoft as a savior, but rather as a catalyst for much-needed investment. “No matter what, this area will be resilient, but we would like Microsoft to be a part of it,” City says.

“Center Hill is disappointed with Microsoft’s decision. However, we believe the Westside will prosper and progress,” says Miranda Blais, vice president of the Center Hill Neighborhood Association, on behalf of the association’s members.

But investors and local politicians argue that if Microsoft doesn’t want to develop the site, the least it can do is get out of the way so someone else can.

“The best solution for Microsoft and Atlanta is a quick solution: either continue to move forward on the new campus or put the land up for sale,” says David Cummings, CEO and founder of VC and incubator Atlanta Ventures and tech startup hub Atlanta. ‘Atlanta. Technology village. “A 90-acre parcel of land near Atlanta’s largest park and rapid transit station is too good to let stand.”