Author Archives: Sean Keenan

In late June, MARTA announced it had teamed up with investment-banking giant Goldman Sachs for a $100 million initiative that promises to develop affordable housing units at and around transit stations. “The Atlanta Affordable Housing and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Initiative is a flexible, multi-product program designed to promote and support the development of ground-up mixed-income, […]

Police arrested nine people for trespassing on city property Monday afternoon, after “a group of protestors were found setting up tents as part of a protest to bring attention to homelessness in Atlanta,” an Atlanta Police Department (APD) statement said. That group, the newly formed ATL Homeless Union, had pitched tents outside Atlanta City Hall as part […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday extended the federal mandate prohibiting landlords from evicting people unable to make rent payments. This will be the last time the moratorium is lengthened, CDC officials said. After numerous extensions, the eviction ban was set to expire at the end of June. Now, millions of U.S. […]

Atlanta’s Department of City Planning has been architecting an updated zoning code that, in short, endeavors to make better use of intown space — in the pursuit of housing affordability — but not at the expense of the way things are. When Atlanta planning officials and urban design experts say the city needs to be more […]

Nearly four months after international hackers cracked into DeKalb County computer servers, sabotaging the government’s emergency rental assistance program, officials say they’ve rebooted the system and begun accepting applications again. The data breach, which occurred on March 24, forced the county to shut down the email account it had been using to collect applications for […]

In August, Georgia officials are expected to roll out a massive program aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The $354 million program, supported by federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funds and administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), is anticipated to provide a lifeline to residents who might be delinquent on their […]

In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced local nonprofit Star-C to suspend its after-school programs, the organization quickly shifted its focus to helping communities brace for a torrent of evictions expected to devastate Americans financially strained by the public health crisis. On Tuesday, Star-C announced its Eviction Relief Fund — a program centered around facilitating remote […]

The new owner of a dilapidated apartment complex on Atlanta’s southside is gearing up to relocate its tenants so construction crews can begin bringing the community up to livable standards. For years, tenants at the Forest Cove apartments lived in what they called “uninhabitable” conditions, sharing space with rats, roaches and mold. In late April, […]

By this time next year, shovels could be chucking dirt to launch construction of Atlanta Housing’s (AH) biggest development in years. Dubbed Englewood South — a callback to the Englewood Manor public housing projects leveled at the southside Atlanta location years ago — the proposed development would offer more than 900 new residences, more than […]

On Wednesday, City of Atlanta leaders and developers celebrated the groundbreaking of Haven at South Atlanta, an 84-unit rental community that promises what officials call “deep affordability.” Seventy-one of those “garden-style apartments” — expected to be available in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans — will be affordable for families earning between 50 and 60 percent […]

Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore, a candidate for mayor, said the time is now to reign in the agencies that have been providing public assistance to developers when doing so isn’t necessary. Asked about the Development Authority of Fulton County [DAFC], for instance, Moore said, “The City of Atlanta, the City Council, we’ve all […]

Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Brown launched his bid for mayor with a pledge to “reimagine Atlanta.” That kind of ambition, of course, demands a tough look at myriad issues — crime, income inequality and education, among others — that can be addressed by first ensuring Atlantans have housing stability. “The crime we see is a […]

Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens, a candidate for mayor, said he intends to pursue some of the goals of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ One Atlanta Housing Affordability Action Plan. The plan, some of which he helped architect, provides a solid framework for future housing policies, he said. “Where I think it fell short was in […]

More than 24,000 names make up Atlanta Housing’s (AH) waiting list for rent vouchers. The coronavirus pandemic, of course, complicated the agency’s efforts to chip away at the backlog, but officials are optimistic that the waning of the public health crisis, coupled with assistance from the federal government, promises a brighter future for Atlantans seeking […]

Atlanta Housing (AH) officials on Wednesday took steps toward launching the second phase of construction on the agency’s first new build in over a decade. During Wednesday’s board of commissioners meeting, AH leaders authorized actions paving the way for the issuance of a $984,225 predevelopment loan for Herndon Square, a potentially $166 million mixed-use development […]

“I don’t think most Atlantans are scared of having people live near them who don’t make as much money as they do.” That’s Dentons attorney Sharon Gay, who recently kicked off her campaign for Atlanta mayor. Gay spoke with Atlanta Civic Circle about her goals for housing, including boosting affordability, rethinking the city’s zoning code and getting […]