During a Thursday meeting, Invest Atlanta — the city’s development authority — took another step toward increasing affordable housing options in local neighborhoods, approving funding measures tied to new mixed-use developments.
The board approved a $5 million acquisition loan for a 26-acre redevelopment project located across from Greenbriar Mall.
Mural Real Estate Partners is planning a $600 million transformation of the Greenbriar Marketplace and the Shoppes of Greenbriar properties. The proposed mixed-use project includes 1,069 multifamily residential units — 15 percent of which will be affordable at 80 percent of the area median income — along with 250,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space. Twenty percent of that commercial space will be discounted for existing tenants, said Mural Real Estate Partners CEO Robin Zeigler.
The two-year acquisition loan from the development authority will go toward the $23 million land purchase and will be funded through the Campbellton Tax Allocation District funds.
Phase one includes 90 affordable and 510 market-rate residential units and is expected to be completed by 2028. Phase two is anticipated to follow by 2030 with 70 affordable units and 399 at market rate.
Renaissance at Park South Place
Invest Atlanta approved a $10.8 million bond resolution to help finance the rehabilitation of 100 senior housing units at Renaissance at Park South Place. The property, owned by Mercy Housing, serves low to moderate-income seniors and is set to undergo upgrades including new appliances, cabinets, countertops, plumbing fixtures, electrical systems, and updated bathrooms. Plans also include the addition of a fitness area and a picnic space.
Mercy Housing is working with multiple funding partners for the $22.4 million project, including Wells Fargo, the National Equity Fund, Cabretta Capital, and the Urban Residential Finance Authority of the city of Atlanta.
According to Invest Atlanta, the renovations will be done in rolling four-week cycles to ensure no residents are displaced. Of the 100 units, 91 are currently occupied. Construction is expected to be completed by 2027.
Mercy Housing, a nationally recognized nonprofit, reports having developed and managed more than 100,000 affordable homes across the country.
Affordable living at the former homeless encampment
The board approved $3 million toward financing for construction of a 112-unit affordable housing project on Cooper Street in the Mechanicsville neighborhood.
Residents will not pay more than 30 percent of their income, according to Invest Atlanta. Of the 112 units, 30 will be reserved for Project HEAL, which provides housing and medical support for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness after being released from the hospital.
The funding will be provided through the Stadium Tax Allocation District grant fund. In addition, the project is receiving $13.7 million from the Homeless Opportunity Fund, a city bond initiative.
The site was formerly a homeless encampment, cleared last year through the city’s Rapid Housing Initiative, which helps relocate residents into housing.
During Thursday’s meeting, Mayor Andre Dickens emphasized that homelessness is a national issue, not just an Atlanta problem. He shared that two individuals recently arrived in Atlanta by bus from Monroe, Georgia and Houston, Texas and set up shelter at the former encampment site.
“People say Atlanta has a homeless problem,” he said, adding that what’s really happening is other cities are sending people here and then claiming there’s no homelessness in their towns.
Dickens added that this project has received broad support from the local neighborhood planning unit, clergy, and the Mechanicsville Neighborhood Association.
Two parcels on the property were formerly owned by Atlanta Public Schools, officials said. Board members discussed the possibility of making the future residential development available to families with homeless children.
New Housing Above Midtown Fire Station 15
Invest Atlanta approved an $85 million tax-exempt bond to help finance the construction of a mixed-use development above Midtown Fire Station 15. The project, led by Atlanta Urban Development Corporation and Midtown Community Heroes Housing, will feature a modernized fire station on the ground floor and 282 multifamily residential units above.
Of those units, 86 will be designated as affordable — 57 for households earning at or below 50 percent of the area median income, and 29 for those at or below 80 percent AMI. The project site is located on 10th Street near Piedmont Park. The total development cost is estimated at $155.7 million.
Affordable Townhomes in Grove Park Approved
The board also approved a $1.4 million grant for the construction of 14 affordable for-sale townhomes in the Grove Park neighborhood. Funded through the Perry Bolton Tax Allocation District’s Resurgens Fund, the homes will be available to buyers earning 80 percent of the area median income or below. The project is being developed by Atlanta Land Trust will continue to own the land lease to buyers. The project is expected to be completed in about a year.
When you do stories like these about affordable housing, could you include a ball park figure for who would qualify, please? For example, what is “80 percent of the area median income” for a given site?
It is exciting that the City is moving forward on so many affordable housing projects. Since public tax dollars are being invested are being invested in these projects I hope that your coverage in the future will include the cost of each housing unit and the public dollars invested per unit. We need to know where our tax dollars are going.
It is thank you Matt Westmoreland for the foresight of this need!
How to apply for the new affordable housing units.
I just wish that we looked at 40 or 60% of ami on more projects .
Oh. And gave no funding to parking pedestals. This example on 10th will be a disaster for traffic. You are 2 blocks from a train
How can I be a part of this new community