The board of directors for Atlanta’s economic development agency, Invest Atlanta, has approved financing to construct 570 affordable housing units in the city, according to the mayor’s office on Tuesday.
The Invest Atlanta board on Monday OK’d a total of more than $86 million in financing in the form of tax allocation district grants or tax-exempt loans across five developments in the city. The mayor’s office said the properties will offer multifamily and single-family housing for a range of area median income (AMI) levels to support different housing needs once the projects are completed.
“As Atlanta continues to grow, we need to ensure that our city offers affordable living options for residents at every stage of life, from single households to families to seniors,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement.
The Herndon Square project received the largest financing package, which is a $41.5 million tax-exempt loan for the new construction of 201 multifamily units in the English Avenue neighborhood. Among that total, Herndon will provide 127 units affordable for a family of four that earns $61,260 a year, which is 60% of the area median income. Forty-three other units will be affordable for a family of four earning $81,680 a year, or 80% of the AMI.
Invest Atlanta also OK’d a $28 million tax-exempt loan to finance The Simpson complex, which will be the new construction of 139 multifamily units in Vine City. A family of four that earns $30,630 a year, or 30% AMI, will be eligible to rent 39 of the Simpson units. The remaining 58 and 42 units will be available for families earning 60% and 80% of the AMI respectively.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Meanwhile, Henderson Place Apartments will receive a $12.5 million tax-exempt loan, along with an additional $3.26 million Housing Opportunity Bond Fund loan, to finance the new construction of 76 multifamily housing units. The mayor’s office said 60 of the units will be available for families earning 60% of the AMI. The remaining 16 units will be available for a family of four that earns $51,050 a year, or 50% of the AMI.
In the Chosewood Park neighborhood, the Englewood Senior development will receive $3 million Beltline tax allocation district increment grant to finance the new construction of 160 multifamily housing units. The senior housing community will offer 21 units at 30% of the AMI and 139 units at 60% of the AMI.
Finally, a $1.5 million Perry Bolton tax allocation district grant will finance the new construction of single-family homes for sale in the Carey Park neighborhood. Five of those homes will be available for families earning 80% of the AMI. Twenty other homes will be available for a family of four that annually earns at $102,100, which is 100% of the AMI.
Invest Atlanta’s approval of the financing comes as the administration tries to build or preserve 20,000 affordable units by 2026. Since Dickens took office in January 2021, nearly 1,800 affordable units have been created through Invest Atlanta board-approved financing, totaling more than $561 million of investments in housing citywide.
In a statement, Invest Atlanta President and CEO Eloisa Klementich said her agency’s housing investments are underpinned by a mission to make Atlanta one of the most equitable and prosperous cities in the world.
“In Atlanta, a child born into poverty has a less than five percent chance of escaping it in their lifetime, which is why the opportunities we are creating through affordable housing matter so much to the future of the city,” she said.
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