Legislation will promise Gulch money for affordable housing initiatives

Part of downtown's desolate Gulch. (Credit: Sean Keenan)
Forthcoming Atlanta City Council legislation will guarantee that the controversial Gulch redevelopment will propel affordable housing initiatives across town, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said during a Thursday press conference.
Propped up by nearly $2 billion in public financing and tax incentives, the potentially $5 billion plan to revitalize downtown’s 50-acre concrete wasteland calls for the creation of a $28 million, city-run affordable housing trust fund, which will help finance the construction and preservation of new units, offer residents down payment assistance and provide an anti-displacement fund to help legacy Atlantans stay in their homes.