Atlanta doubles down on rapid housing to reduce homelessness
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A rendering of the rapid housing project on Cooper Street in Mechanicsville. Photo: Courtesy of city of Atlanta/Niles Bolton Associates
Construction will soon begin on Atlanta's latest plan to provide housing to its most vulnerable residents amid a larger effort to end homelessness in the Downtown area before the city hosts eight 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
Why it matters: The project is another nudge forward in Mayor Andre Dickens' goal to build 500 rapid housing units by the end of the year and a plan by Partners for Home, the nonprofit managing Atlanta's strategy to reduce homelessness, to house 400 people within that same timeframe.
Driving the news: A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday at the site, which is at 405 Cooper St., in the city's Mechanicsville neighborhood.
- Plans for the project's first phase call for 100 housing units to be constructed on the site, which at one point served as a homeless encampment.
- People living in those units will have access to mental health, workforce development and case management services that will help them get on their feet and obtain long-term stable housing, the city said.
What they're saying: "A lot of sad days have happened here. A lot of desperate days have happened here, and this marks a hopeful future of what the city can be," said Josh Humphries, senior housing adviser to the mayor.
- Dickens said the second phase of the project will feature 70 market-rate townhomes.
- "This will give families opportunities to stay, invest and build generational wealth in this neighborhood," he said, adding that the city helped connect the former encampment's residents with services they needed to get off the streets.
- Dickens also said the city is searching for a director to lead a new Office of Homelessness, which is part of the recommendations released last week from the 90-Day Homelessness Task Force.
Zoom out: Partners for Home, which also coordinates the city's annual count of unhoused people, last week released its $212 million Atlanta Rising plan to eliminate homelessness in the city.
- The first phase of the project, dubbed Downtown Rising, is a "coordinated, place-based initiative focused on rehousing individuals living unsheltered in the city's core," Partners for Home said last week in a statement.
- It includes outreach to people living in at least 10 homeless encampments near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to the AJC.
Catch up quick: The city has opened three previous rapid housing projects: The Melody, Ralph David House and 729 Bonaventure.
- The Melody features 40 converted shipping containers on city-owned property on Forsyth Street near the Garnett MARTA Station in South Downtown.
- 729 Bonaventure, a building dating back to the early 1900s, was renovated to offer 23 units reserved for people who are unhoused in Virginia-Highland.
- The Ralph David House is a former motel refurbished into 56 studio apartments off Moreland Avenue.
What's next: The city has another rapid housing project under construction on city-owned property, on the northwest corner of 17th Street and Northside Drive.
- Humphries told Axios the project is on track to finish later this year.