Plans to build a second substation in the Vine City neighborhood has pit Georgia Power — which says the facility is necessary to strengthen the area’s grid — against residents who are deeply opposed to the location.
It’s not the first facility of its kind to be constructed in the middle of the historic community; another sits less than a half-mile away from the proposed site, between Foundry and Magnolia streets along Northside Drive.
Residents rallied against the project after informational materials shared with community leaders by Georgia Power said the substation would help support energy needs about 2 miles away in the Gulch, to help transform it as part of the multibillion-dollar Centennial Yards redevelopment.
The utility company backed away from that early messaging Thursday and doubled down that the substation is meant to boost the entire power grid as energy demands continue to grow in the area.
“This investment in the power grid in the Vine City and English Avenue area serves thousands of business and residential customers in the area,” said Misty Fernandez, Atlanta regional executive at Georgia Power. “And (it) delivers on the commitment to keep energy reliable and affordable for the entire downtown and westside region.
Community leaders also worry about the site’s close proximity to single-family homes, a senior living facility and elementary school that all sit within a block of the now-vacant lot.
As cars zipped by the bustling corner of Northside Drive and Magnolia Street in Vine City on Thursday morning, longtime community activist and former state Rep. “Able” Mable Thomas gathered with about a dozen other residents for a news conference and protest.
“The question I always ask is: Do low-wealth, working-class people have the power to control, direct or even have voice in their own community?” Thomas said. “I submit to you that the corporate giants have decided to control our communities, direct our communities and even want to take our voice away.”
In a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, representatives of the $5 billion Centennial Yards development called early information that the substation is needed to power the development “falsehoods.”
“Centennial Yards Co. has no role, ownership or decision-making ability with regard to the substation Georgia Power is planning to build in Vine City,” a spokesperson for the development said. “Georgia Power has clearly stated that this substation is required to continue providing reliable power to all downtown Atlanta and its surrounding neighborhoods and that it is not solely for Centennial Yards.”
But in a presentation obtained by the AJC and shared with Vine City and English Avenue leaders last month, Georgia Power pointed to the massive development downtown and activity around the FIFA World Cup as reasons for the substation.
Early renderings offered to residents also showed underground transmission lines set to connect the substation to the Gulch area, leaving them wondering why the facility is being placed on their front door.
“Being so close to the stadium, the entertainment district, they have used this area as a drop-off area, as a way station to power downtown,” said Steven Muhammad, with the Vine City Civic Association.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
To reengage the community on plans that have been in the works for some time, Georgia Power hosted two listening sessions at the Georgia World Congress Center on Thursday afternoon and evening to answer questions about the project.
The company had experts around the room answering questions about the environmental impact, public health risks, substation design, stormwater considerations and what roadway disruptions are anticipated from installing the underground lines.
“It’s a delicate balance, because if you go to a community too soon with information and you don’t have enough details that residents expect, it can be frustrating,” Fernandez said. “But if you wait too long until you’ve ironed out all those details, it can come off as you communicated too late.”
“But we always strive to make sure that we are communicating with the public before we start vegetation clearing and certainly before we do site preparation, to minimize those surprises,” she said.
The company highlighted that the substation will be enclosed — unlike other facilities — and will remove some overhead power lines as underground infrastructure is installed. And, unlike concerns related to a different project in Howell Station, the area’s tree canopy wouldn’t be affected.
None of the information presented at the meeting mentioned the Centennial Yards development or showed how the facility would connect to the Gulch area downtown.
For residents in the community who previously requested Georgia Power provide a third-party environmental and public health risk assessment of the site — a request ultimately denied — the company’s community engagement efforts come too late.
“They do not want our participation in planning our destiny,” Thomas said. “They violate the process of engagement and input and just give us updates and timelines on what they are going to do in our community.”
Georgia Power said it plans on breaking ground on the project this month, with construction set to be completed by early 2028. The company said construction will pause during events around the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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