Invest Atlanta, the city’s official economic development authority kicked off the new year with a look at the Beltline, affordable housing, and economic programs for 2024 in the Jan. 18 board meeting.
Jan. 18 also marked District 1 Atlanta Councilmember Jason Winston’s first Invest Atlanta meeting as the chair of the Community Development and Human Services Committee, which oversees economic and community development for the city.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Invest Atlanta, Dr. Eloisa Klementich, opened the meeting with a look at some of the development authority’s 2024 programs, including incentive bonds, tax credits, and job placements.
A key focus among Invest Atlanta and its 2024 projects is affordable housing in historic neighborhoods and along the BeltLine. The economic development authority runs several programs to offset tax increases and home costs, particularly for long-term residents.
In 2023, over 1,000 residents applied for an Invest Atlanta program that would help pay for critical health and safety repairs. Many of those applicants were senior citizens who have spent decades in their homes.
In the new year, Klementich looked towards programs like the Anti-Displacement Tax Relief Fund that will use $10 million to offset rising property taxes for long-term residents. The organization will also continue with down payment assistance of up to $20,000.
Invest Atlanta authorized a $640,000 grant to Westside Future Fund that will help the organization develop 24 multi-family housing units at 646 Echo Street in the English Avenue Neighborhood. The Westside Future Fund, a nonprofit formed by public and private partnerships in Atlanta, aims to revitalize historic Westside neighborhoods while maintaining a “diverse, mixed-income community.”
The nonprofit is working on several Westside revitalization projects besides Echo Street, including a multi-family housing development under Westside Future Fund, also in the English Avenue neighborhood at 839 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard. The project will create 33 units and 1,200 square feet of retail across three buildings and is set to be completed by the start of 2025.
The future fund received a $10 million grant from the Arthur M. Blank family foundation in 2023 to help pay for continued affordable housing and revitalization projects in the west side.
Not all construction projects in the area have been well-received, though. A representative from the English Avenue Neighborhood Association spoke against an unspecified potential project that “does not meet the criteria” for Invest Atlanta redevelopments.
English Avenue Neighborhood Zoning, Housing and Land Use Committee Chair Tanya Williams said the community has denied support for a project that she said won’t be beneficial to a majority of the community.
“The owner of the project has not engaged with the community in a responsible manner,” Williams said.
She said the unnamed project does not promote rooftops or address the neighborhood’s lack of access to fresh food. Instead, Williams said the community does want to “support responsible development that creates a stable and sustainable community.”
The Invest Atlanta board members said the development Williams referred to was not on the docket for public discussion at the Jan. 18 meeting.
BeltLine, Inc. CEO Clyde Higgs said the nonprofit saw success in providing affordable housing to Atlanta residents, especially as development continues on the 22-mile trail loop. The nonprofit uses partnerships to build and preserve affordable housing within the BeltLine Tax Allocation District.
A BeltLine report showed the group is over 60 percent of the way towards its stated goal of creating and preserving 5,600 affordable housing units by 2030. The nonprofit’s legacy retention program also hit 216 homeowners who will have their property tax increases paid through 2030.
“We had three groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings, lots of activity,” Higgs said.
The CEO said he was proud of the BeltLine’s land acquisition strategy — this year, the organization will have acquired almost 100 acres of land for future affordability.
“That’s going to allow us to do perhaps permanent, deep affordability along the BeltLine, so you’ll see more of that in 2024,” Higgs said.
