City picks developer for affordable housing project

Housing authority to redesign property at Legacy Park.

Decatur is partnering with the city’s housing author- ity to design, develop and oversee a project expected to provide more than 100 homes for low-income residents.

The City Commission approved an intergovern- mental agreement with the Decatur Housing Authority during its meeting last week. The authority will bring to life the city’s South Hous- ing Village project at Leg- acy Park, a 77-acre plot that includes a few historic buildings, community gardens and vacant green space.

“There’s a lot more work to be done,” City Manager Andrea Arnold said during the meeting. “This is a fairly complex project.”

The city purchased the property, which previously housed the former United Methodist Children’s Home, in 2018. City leaders deter- mined the large swath of land was one of their last opportunities to provided affordable housing in a city that’s struggled to stymie rising rents.

The Decatur Housing Authority will design the project’s details, but Arnold said they estimate 130 units will be part of the South Housing Village project, which is expected to span a little more than 6 acres. The units will consist of duplexes and apartments. There’s also a North Housing Village project in the works, but that potential development consisting of single-family and duplex cottages is being kept sep- arate for now.

Doug Foust, the housing authority’s executive director, said the average apartment will be for residents who make below 60% of the area median income (AMI), which is $51,720 per year for a family of four in Decatur. To meet that requirement, rent for a two-bedroom unit would be capped at $1,164 a month. A few units could be listed as market rate — $1,940 per month for a two-bedroom unit — but the average can’t surpass 60% of the AMI.

To finance the project, the housing authority will apply for low-income housing tax credits. The application, which includes the design and scope of the project, must be submitted in May.