Nestled southeast of downtown Atlanta, in the Orchard Knob neighborhood, construction crews are busy churning dirt and pouring concrete at Atlanta Habitat for Humanity’s Browns Mill Village, a mixed-income housing community that’s already been slated for 139 homes.
On the sidewalk of one the housing development’s winding roads, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff announced that an additional $2 million in federal funding is being allocated to the affordable housing project and will add 20 more homes to the list.
“We can never take for granted a roof over our heads, a safe community for our children,” Ossoff said Friday. “These are the fundamentals and for too many families in Georgia and across the country, it’s out of reach.”
Ossoff spearheaded the appropriation in Congress that dipped into funds from a massive spending package passed in March that earmarked $97.5 billion to go toward transportation, housing and urban development initiatives across the country.
“The construction of affordable housing in this community will continue,” Ossoff said, adding that the allocation of funds was passed with bipartisan support.
Alan Ferguson, chief executive officer of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, said Friday that the organization will use the funds as part of the second phase of construction of 32 homes, originally scheduled for 2027 ― a timeline that may now be pushed up with the help of the additional dollars.
Interested first-time buyers in the community would receive a 30-year, interest-free mortgage with payments starting at $750 a month, Ferguson said.
“That’s less than it costs for an affordable one bedroom apartment,” he said. “And we’re providing them the opportunity not only to have a quality, safe place to stay, but a place to call their own and a (stake) in this city.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
The first phase of construction of 139 homes is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and includes 75 single and two-story, two- and three-bedroom homes, according to Atlanta Habitat. Cityscape Housing and the Atlanta Development Partnership will build an additional 59 townhomes at the 31-acre site.
Atlanta City Council member Antonio Lewis, who represents the area, said that the Browns Mill Village community brings much-needed development and affordable housing options for residents on the Southside.
“I know a lot of folks are extremely proud about cutting ribbons, but I’m impressed with what it took for us to get to this day,” Lewis said. “I grew up a stone’s throw from here…I knew it as a dark area.”
“To see what it has become and to see the people and the families in the area brings delight and joy to my heart,” he said.
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