Financing approved for affordable housing sites

The city’s economic development agency, Invest Atlanta, approved financing to construct or renovate 709 affordable apartment units in the city.

Invest Atlanta voted to back bonds to pay for construction on three new developments and extended bond financing for renovation work in two existing housing developments, the agency announced in a news release. The new developments will provide an additional 480 affordable units in the city. Combined, the projects will provide 709 affordable units to the city’s southside and westside.

Of the units approved, 73% will be offered to buyers who earn 60% of the area’s median income or less. For a one-person household, that would be an annual income of $31,440, or up to $44,880 annually for a four-person household.

The funding was approved at the Oct. 17 board of directors’ meeting.

The projects are a part of the city’s effort to improve Atlanta’s affordable housing shortage.

“All of our residents should have access to safe, quality, affordable housing, and (this is) another step in this direction,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a statement.

Herndon Square Apartments received $12.5 million in bond financing to construct 97 senior housing units in the Vine City Neighborhood near the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Of the units approved, 73% will be offered to buyers who earn 60% of the area’s median income or less. For a one-person household, that would be an annual income of $31,440, or up to $44,880 annually for a fourperson household.

The property will sit near Northside Drive as part of a mixed-use development that will include a health and business center.

The area was once home to housing project Herndon Homes. El Paso, Texas-based Hunt Cos. and Atlanta-based Oakwood Development Group were chosen as master developers of the 12-acre site in 2016.

Units at the new development will be available at affordable prices for residents that make 60% of the area’s median income under a contract with Atlanta Housing.

Invest Atlanta also approved $17.5 million in bond financing to construct Sylvan Hills Senior, which will have 183 units available for residents earning 50% to 60% of the area’s median income.

London Townhomes will receive $20 million in bond financing for the 200-unit project, located in the Ivan Hill neighborhood. About 90 percent of the units will be available for low-income residents.

The Benoit Group Development, LLC will be the developer for both projects.

Invest Atlanta also approved financing for upgrades in Capitol View Apartments in Southwest Atlanta and Marietta Road Senior Tower in northwest Atlanta.

The Marietta Road Senior Tower will receive elevator and common area upgrades, new water heaters, boilers, air conditioning equipment, emergency power generators, and windows. Renovations at the 129-unit building are expected to lower the building’s operating cost and carbon footprint.

Capitol View Apartments in southwest Atlanta consists of 120 garden-style units for residents who make between 30% and 80% of the area’s median income. The apartment complex will have new building systems, an upgraded interior and amenities.

Mayor Bottoms has pledged to leverage $1 billion toward housing affordability to produce and preserve 20,000 units of affordable housing within Atlanta by 2026.

Affordability is calculated based on income limits set by Housing and Urban Development. Atlanta’s median income for the metropolitan area is $52,400 for a single-person household up to $86,800 for a six-person household.