Historic West End Community Improvement District Elects First Board of Directors

A core group of business and community leaders has stepped up to guide the recently formed Historic West End Community Improvement District (CID).

Commercial property owners within the CID on Thursday elected the following individuals to serve as the inaugural board of directors:

•    Darrell Green – Wells Fargo Bank
•    Keith Johnson – Selig Enterprises
•    Jeffery Robinson – J W Robinson & Associates Inc.
•    H. Jerome Russell – H.J. Russell & Company
•    Charles Taylor – HT Group LLC (West End Mall owner)
•    Charles Williams – Elexis Properties

Pictured from left to right: Charles Taylor, H. Jerome Russell, City of Atlanta Councilmember Cleta Winslow, Charles Williams, Jeffery Robinson, Keith Johnson. Not pictured – Darrell Green and Rita Gibson.

H. Jerome Russell will serve as the CID’s first chairman. Russell said the district’s formation and board elections fulfill eight years of organizational efforts from within the predominantly African-American community.

“There is real enthusiasm and pride in seeing our CID become a reality and preparing to make this historic area safer, more aesthetically pleasing and economically vibrant,” Russell said. “The West End CID would not have been possible without the assistance of community leaders such as the West End Merchants Coalition and elected officials serving our communities. It is an extremely collaborative effort, and we envision that momentum will continue into the next phase.”

We look forward to the owners of Stream Realty’s Lee + White project, one of the newest developers in the West End community, along with other nearby property owners joining the CID and donating funds during our expansion efforts.

Nickel Works Consulting, which assisted with the CID’s formation, will provide administration services for the CID. Some immediate goals to be accomplished include securing available grants for expansion planning and collaborating with the City of Atlanta and Atlanta University Center on mutually beneficial projects. Board members will determine the CID’s millage rate later in July. Currently, a rate of 5 mills is proposed for the district.