Atlanta approves financing for 218 affordable housing units
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Atlanta's economic development agency approved millions in financing Thursday to create or preserve 218 affordable housing units.
Why it matters: New affordable units could help address a housing crisis in a city that has staggering income inequality. The units also could make it possible for low-income families to live closer to work or school.
Zoom in: Invest Atlanta awarded National Church Residences a $20 million tax-exempt bond to buy and renovate 152 units for seniors at Martin House in Atlanta's Adamsville neighborhood.
- Each rental unit will be priced to be considered affordable at 60% of the area median income (AMI), which is $64,500 for a family of four, according to Invest Atlanta.
Another project calls for using $1.47 million in housing opportunity bonds to help Homes for the Future buy 21 rental homes in southwest Atlanta neighborhoods.
- Twenty-one would be affordable at or below 80% of the AMI, or $86,000, and the goal would be eventually to transition them into affordable homeownership opportunities.
The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership received a $2 million housing opportunity bond to help it buy and rehab another 40 residential rental homes across the city.
- The homes will be affordable at 30% to 80% ($32,250 to $86,000) of the AMI for up to 10 years, with future plans to convert them into affordable homeownership opportunities.
A project to redevelop a quadraplex at 471 English Avenue into six units was awarded a $260,000 Westside Tax Allocation District grant.
- Five units will be affordable at 50% or below the AMI, which amounts to $53,750.
What they're saying: Mayor Andre Dickens, who wants to create or preserve 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030, said "we need to ensure our investments meet people where they are — whether that is single residents, families or seniors."
- "I am incredibly proud of the strides the Invest Atlanta Board and team continue to make, including today's actions that will provide more single family and multifamily options for more Atlantans," said Dickens, who also serves as the Invest Atlanta board chair.
The big picture: Since 2022, Invest Atlanta says it's closed financing of 4,518 affordable housing units, which adds up to $1.5 billion in investment in support of Dickens' housing plan.