During the 1970s, a notorious public housing project, East Lake Meadows, was built at the former site of the second course at East Lake, west of Second Avenue. A violent crime wave took over the development, and the community saw crime rise, as quality of life and housing values declined. In 1995 a private group led by developer and former resident Tom Cousins entered into a partnership with the City of Atlanta to raze the Meadows and rebuild a new mixed income development, the Villages of East Lake. With the Meadows demolition, crime began to rapidly decline, and the community began a renaissance as the 20th century ended. Sparked by an already active community association established in 1975, residents protected and preserved the neighborhood during the tumultuous 1960s, 70s, and 80s. As a result, in the late 1990s the neighborhood began to attract young urbanites who eagerly bought the charming homes and changed the residential character of the area, subjecting East Lake to a dramatic property value inflation of 230%.

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