Techwood/Clark Howell Urban Revitalization Tract Archaeological Potential and Historic Land Use

An archaeological potential and land use plan study of the proposed Techwood/Clark Howell Urban Revitalization tract, Atlanta, Georgia, was conducted by Brockington and Associates, Inc. in April 1995. The project tract encompasses 51 acres and includes Techwood/Clark Howell Homes. The Techwood/Clark Howell Urban Revitalization Tract is located within the Atlanta city limits. Generally, the project tract is bounded by Luckie Street, Mills Street, Interstate 75 (or West Peachtree Street), and North Avenue. It is currently planned for the Techwood/Clark Howell housing project to be demolished and a mixed income development constructed in its place. Techwood Homes was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1974, as the first Federal housing project completed in the United States. Since the new development will utilize some Federal funds, the project must comply with Section 106 cultural resource management procedures. In April 1995, Brockington and Associates, Inc. was requested to complete a historic land use plan for the Techwood/Clark Howell Urban Revitalization tract, and comment on the potential for archaeological resources within the project area. As a mitigative action, it is recommended that an archaeological team conduct a reconnaissance survey before demolition commences to identify areas which may have minimum previous disturbances. Once the initial reconnaissance and testing are completed, an archaeologist should monitor the demolition and debris clearing during each construction phase to insure that the heavy machinery does not inadvertently destroy significant subsurface deposits. After the construction debris has been cleared, it is recommended that archaeologists intensively examine the demolished areas to determine if significant subsurface features are present. If determined significant (during the reconnaissance/testing or data recovery phases), the archaeological team should hand excavate the features and remove all artifacts for laboratory analysis and curation. The feature profiles should be cleaned and photographed for interpretation and reporting. Once all field investigations are complete, the results should be reported and submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for review.