At a May 15 meeting the Invest Atlanta board approved $8.5 million in Tax Allocation District funds to help build 150 new units of affordable housing in some of the city’s underfunded neighborhoods.
The projects will add 166 new housing units total, with 150 set aside at various affordability levels based on the Area Median Income, or AMI. Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development entity targeted the resolutions around Vine City, English Avenue and the Upper Westside – all parts of the city that have seen neglect and a lack of development.
Mayor Andre Dickens said it’s “strategic” to use the Tax Allocation District funding alongside partnerships with the faith community and private and non-profit sectors. According to Invest Atlanta, the district dollars will leverage an additional $52 million in private investments towards affordable housing.
Dickens said the partnership “not only helps to meet our affordable housing commitment, but also brings new quality housing that spurs additional investment in these neighborhoods.”
The Atlanta mayor has previously declared a citywide goal of building or preserving 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030. Hotspots like the Beltline are on track to deliver thousands of units by 2030, thanks in part to the Beltline Tax Allocation District.
“Atlanta’s Tax Allocation Districts have been instrumental in transforming our communities by driving economic growth and revitalizing underdeveloped areas,” Invest Atlanta President and CEO Dr. Eloisa Klemmentich said. “Affordable housing is one of many ways TAD investments bring new investment to our communities that accelerates economic growth and job creation.”
The May 15 resolutions targeted long-neglected neighborhoods in Atlanta, like English Avenue. English Avenue was once a hub for Atlanta’s middle-class Black communities, but has since deteriorated into poverty. By 2018 two-thirds of the neighborhood had depopulated.
$3.5 million in grant funding went towards English Avenue developments. $1 million from the Westside TAD went to English Commons, a 20-unit project along James P. Brawley Boulevard. Longtime English Avenue resident and developer Clifford Palmer will lead the multifamily housing project. 16 units will be priced at 60 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
In 2024, Invest Atlanta reported the Area Median Income for the Atlanta-Sandy-Springs-Roswell area is $75,300 for one person. An apartment at 60 percent of the AMI would start at about $1,209 for a one bedroom and $1,452 for a two bedroom unit.
An additional $2.5 million from the Westside TAD was approved for a Westside Future Fund project called Sunset Avenue. The organization plans to transform vacant English Avenue land into a 26-unit “deeply affordable development.” The units will start at 30 percent of the Area Median Income.
Outside of English Avenue, another $2.5 million from the Westside TAD went towards a neighboring Vine City development. The 70-unit project is listed as mixed-income housing, with 63 units priced at 60 percent or less of the Area Median Income.
This project is a collaboration between Good Places development, Collaborative Housing Solutions and Cosmopolitan AME Church. It will turn unused church parking and open space into housing. The church pastor Rev. Dr. Cynthia Parnell McDonald said the church has been a “cornerstone” of Vine City for more than 100 years.
“Tax Allocation District support helps us to realize our vision of breathing new life into this vacant property through affordable housing that serves those in need,” McDonald said.
An additional $2.5 million from the Perry Bolton TAD went to an Upper Westside development called The Kennedy at Riverside. Radiant Development Partners will build 50 units of “family focused” housing in the Riverside neighborhood. It will feature a fitness center, computer room, gathering space and social services. 45 units will be priced at about half of the Area Median Income.
The new developments join an ever-growing list of projects focused on English Avenue and the city’s Westside, like a “Community Builders” program to let locals redevelop properties in their neighborhood or a 180-unit affordable Collier Heights development. For the mayor, it’s all a part of his housing goal.
“An Atlanta for all is one that prioritizes healthy, thriving neighborhoods that benefit residents and communities throughout the city,” Mayor Dickens said.
The saporta report does an excellent job of keeping Atlantas eyes on the prize as well as the ball,not to mention the Atlanta way..!!