Automotive Career Center Fights to Maintain Operations

An automotive mentoring and job placement program in East Point, Georgia has come to a halt due to zoning issues with its new facility, Atlanta News First reports.

The Automotive Training Center was first founded in 2014 by Larry Witherspoon. The facility trains between 25 to 50 students each year.

The students come from under-resourced backgrounds and the program works with local dealerships to help find fulfilling jobs for the students upon completion of their studies.

Having outgrown its previous location, this past February Witherspoon purchased an auto shop building at 2441 Main Street in East Point that had been sitting vacant for over a year. However, just recently, the organization has been informed of a change in zoning.

During its vacancy, the property had a change in zoning, going from industrial light to commercial redevelopment–though Witherspoon said that other businesses, such as the auto shop previously located there, had been operating illegally without the necessary business licenses. 

Witherspoon is now fighting to be able to move his nonprofit into the Main Street facility, having submitted a rezoning application to the city council of East Point, which will have the final say.

The community is invited to come tour the facility this coming Monday before a group heads to the East Point City Council meeting at city hall that evening.

“We provide an essential service for the city and on top of that, the majority of the students are under or unemployed and helping them become viable taxpayers that are contributing to their communities and taking care of their families,” Witherspoon explained. “I don’t know if you can put a measure on how impactful that is and how much it helps the metro Atlanta area.”