Mayor cuts ribbon on affordable community south of downtown

$14M development features 56 units in Peoplestown.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens unveiled a new apartment building with dozens of affordable housing units Tuesday, part of his wider goal to help ease the city’s housing shortage.

In the morning, Dickens cut a ribbon outside the entrance to a 56-unit apartment building called Stanton Park Apartments in the Peoplestown neighborhood, south of downtown.

During an opening ceremony, he noted the building’s proximity to the Southside Beltline Trail and the building’s amenities, which include a community room and fitness center.

“A city as diverse as Atlanta and as progressive as ours needs diverse and practical housing options ... that enhance Atlanta’s communities as well as improve the quality of life for all of our residents,” Dickens said. “Our hope for a brighter future for Atlanta is baked in with affordability.”

The building on Hank Aaron Drive features 36 one-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom units, said Woda Cooper Cos., one of the developers. The units are 650 square feet and 885 square feet, respectively. Each comes with energy-efficient appliances.

The city’s economic development authority Invest Atlanta partnered on the project with Atlanta BeltLine Inc., Atlanta Housing, housing advocacy group Partners for HOME, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, commercial real estate agency Walker & Dunlop, and real estate company Sugar Creek Capital.

Co-developers are Woda Cooper Cos. and Parallel Housing.

A Woda Cooper Cos. news release said Invest Atlanta provided almost $1 million as a permanent loan. Urban Residential Finance Authority, Invest Atlanta’s housing finance group, granted the project a $6.5 million tax-exempt bond.

The development mostly was financed through federal and state low-income housing tax credits that were allocated by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Woda Cooper said.

The $14.2 million development is limited to residents who earn between 30% to 80% of the area median income. Rents for a one-bedroom are between $413 to $925, and rents are $805 to $1,080 for a two-bedroom, based on income.

In addition, 10 units are reserved for people who have experienced homelessness, the release said.

In prepared remarks, Terri M. Lee, president and CEO of Atlanta Housing, said those residents would receive project-based voucher rental assistance. She said the housing authority would invest about $138,000 each year in the community.

“In addition, residents will receive life-enhancing wrap-around supportive services through Fulton County Behavioral Health,” she said.

Dickens said the project was part of his goal to create or revive 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030.

By some estimates, income is not keeping up with rents and home prices in Atlanta.

Since 2017, average home prices have increased 73% across the counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb and Clayton, said the news release, squeezing individuals and families and preventing them from getting into affordable housing.

According to the City of Atlanta Affordable Housing Tracker, the city has delivered more than 4,000 affordable housing units and broken ground on more than 5,000 since the beginning of 2022.

Dickens said he hopes to provide 500 unsheltered people with housing by 2025.

“I’m proud that (this development) serves our neighbors that are in need and those that are facing chronic homelessness,” Dickens said.

According to the City of Atlanta Affordable Housing Tracker, the city has delivered more than 4,000 affordable housing units and broken ground on more than 5,000 since the beginning of 2022. Dickens said he hopes to provide 500 unsheltered people with housing by 2025.