TCDC breaks ground on construction of four new homes

DIGGING IN: Board members and community partners broke ground on four new homes that will be built on N. Stevens St. on Wednesday morning.

THOMASVILLE — The Thomasville Community Development Corporation, in partnership with TNB, Renasant Bank, and InvestTVL, broke ground on four new homes on N. Stevens St. on Wednesday morning.

TCDC Executive Director Earl Williams spoke on the significance of this groundbreaking, noting the importance of affordable homes in a historically Black community.

Williams grew up in the neighborhood, but said many people overlook the true beauty and stories that lie within the area. “When I look at this community, I see something different

than all of you do,” he said. “When you drive through it, you’re going to see blighted housing, some trash, and maybe some dogs walking around. But what I see is the assets and foundations of this community that are still here.”

Williams specifically pointed out the numerous churches in the area, including St. James, Mt. Zion, First Missionary Baptist Church, and the Church of the Good Shepherd. Additionally, he referenced the creek that runs through the area, which was traditionally where Black baptisms took place.

Along with these pillars and foundations in the community, Williams noted institutions like the Weston YMCA, which was widely used when he was a child, and is still available to youth.

“We have Weston Park, which is probably one of the nicest parks in Thomasville,” he said. “We have Douglass HighSchool, which is no longer a high school, but we are getting ready

to turn it into apartments.”

Williams told the crowd the other thing they may not realize is that the area is home to the Walton Technical College, which has now been converted into an event space.

“We have a lot of functioning things going on here,” Williams said. “But what’s missing is housing, with the help of TCDC’s community partners, housing will no longer be an issue."

“Forty percent of the property in the neighborhoods we serve are either vacant or blighted, so there is a lot of opportunity here,” Williams explained. “Only 30% of the people who do live in these homes are homeowners, so there’s a lot of room here for help.”

The help will come from TCDC, which launched four single-family homes, targeted at the workforce community. “We believe everyone should have a safe place to call home,” Williams said. “We realize the effort of this project is small, but for this community it’s a big deal.”

InvestTVL Executive Director Eugene Nguyen echoed Williams’ statements, sharing what a big deal this was for the organizations.“This was a mission and vision of TCDC that we

wanted to execute years ago, and I’ve had the pleasure of jumping in and helping,” Nguyen said. Nguyen thanked the banking partners who helped secure the funding for this project, despite the risks involved. “These are people who believe in what we are doing, and we wouldn’t be here without them today,” Nguyen said.

Jamie Lawrence, Market President of Renasant Bank, was proud to be in attendance and shared his excitement to be a part of this monumental project.“I’m glad we were able to help and that they came to us,” Lawrence said. “This is where we get to where we get

to take off the gloves and do what’s right for the community, so thank you for letting us be a part of that.”

Concluding Lawrence’s statement, all stakeholders and board members rolled up their gloves and dug into the dirt, commencing the groundbreaking on N. Stevens St.