Historic King site plans for the future

By Rosalind Bentley

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The National Park Service is going to hold a small celebration along Auburn Avenue on Wednesday. One of the last of the privately owned properties along the historic avenue is going to be transferred to the service. You could say that 530 Auburn Ave. is one of the last pieces in the puzzle for the agency, which over the past 20 years has gained possession of many of the buildings that make up the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Here, Judy Forte, superintendent of the historic site, talks about acquisitions, restoration and patience.

Q: How many privately owned properties are left along Auburn Avenue in the historic district?

A: There is one privately owned home in the [Martin Luther King Jr.] birth-home block and one vacant lot. Those are the only two properties now [besides King’s birth home] that are not within the Park Service’s ownership.

Q: So do you sort of lobby the remaining owners in the hope that the properties might be left one day to the Park Service?

A: What happened in this situation was the property owner put up a “For Sale” sign. But at that time we did not have dollars to purchase property, so we contacted the Trust for Public Land and asked them if they would partner with us and purchase the property with the idea of the Park Service purchasing the property from them once we had the funds.

Q: How much did you pay for it?

A: I am not sure of the appraised value of the property, which is what the Park Service would pay.

Q: Well, I do see that your office received $146,000 in federal stimulus money. But that’s not going toward this latest house but another in that block. And, by the look of that one, you’ll need more than $146,000 just to pull the siding off.

A: We’re trying to put a new roof on it, stabilize the porch and trying to replace some of the windows. But that is about all we can do with the funds we’ve received. With the property that we acquire, it’s not like there’s government money sitting around to fix them up.

Q: They are kind of eyesores right there in the same block as King’s family home.

A: They are eyesores, and one of the risks is that the community will say, “Government, when are you going to fix up your property?”

Q: Under your administration, have you explored the possibility with the King family of purchasing the center?

A: No. But the heart of the historic site, as much as people would like to think is the King Center, it’s really the birth home. But the King Center is definitely important because that’s where Dr. King and Mrs. King are now resting.

Q: Do you worry that when the new civil and human rights museum is built downtown, that it will hurt this site?

A: I really don’t. From what I hear they are planning to do, it will only enhance each other’s message.