Decide DeKalb Development Authority is set to administer another $75 million bond for its ambitious $155 million Housing Investment Bond Program, according to a July 31 announcement from the Board of Directors.
Weeks earlier, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners greenlit the Housing Investment Bond Program with an initial $25 million bond issuance. The resolution authorized the county’s housing authority to issue the taxable revenue bonds, a debt subject to taxation and backed by varied cash flows.
DeKalb’s debt will be paid through annual dollars from the general fund — $15 million a year starting in 2027. In 2026, the city set aside $12 million for housing.
In total, the program is expected to leverage more than $1.2 billion in public and private investment, all to reach the county goal of 15,000 housing units by 2032.
It marks the most ambitious housing investment initiative in DeKalb County’s history. At a July meeting, DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said it marks one of the “most significant public investments” in the entire county.
The funds will pay for a host of housing help: down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, home repair support for longtime homeowners, gap financing for affordable and workforce housing, neighborhood revitalization and expanded services for homeless people.
“Housing is economic development,” Decide DeKalb President and CEO Dorian DeBarr said. “When people can afford to live near where they work, businesses grow, neighborhoods stabilize and opportunity reaches every corner of the county.”
“This board action puts real resources behind that belief and behind the residents of DeKalb County,” DeBarr continued.
The down payment assistance program will provide up to $20,000 in assistance for qualifying first-time homebuyers earning the Area Median Income, or AMI; $117,800 according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. County employees can receive an additional $5,000.
After 10 years, the loans will be forgiven if the homeowners stay on the property. The program also includes different “funds,” like the Multifamily Acquisition Fund aimed at preserving existing apartment communities and mixed-income housing, or the Housing Capacity Building Seed Fund to provide grants and technical assistance for nonprofits and emerging developers working on affordable housing.
There is also a gap financing fund, a blighted property program to redevelop abandoned and deteriorated properties, a transitional housing and extended-stay hotel program to convert hotels into temporary housing, and an owner-occupied rehabilitation program to give long-term homeowners up to $44000 in loans for repairs.
DeKalb County Chief Housing Officer Alan Ferguson said the program’s many avenues are because “there is no single answer to today’s housing challenges.”
“Every one of these investments strengthens DeKalb County,” Ferguson said.
The program will be implemented through a partnership between the DeKalb County CEO’s Office of Housing, the Housing Authority of DeKalb County, Decide DeKalb Development Authority, the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority and the Housing Development Corporation.
“Our residents asked us to invest in housing, and this is what that investment looks like in action,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said. “The Housing Investment Bond Program is about long-term solutions, and it will take every one of our partners working together to deliver them. Decide DeKalb’s commitment today is exactly the kind of collaboration that will make this program succeed.”
