Three years ago, Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta Housing Authority, City of Atlanta and Atlanta Beltline, Inc. came together to develop an updated housing strategy. Working with HR&A Advisors and Enterprise Community Partners, our agencies put a stake in the ground for what we wanted to accomplish within the decade. 

The goals we set out in the strategy were ambitious: to reduce the number of Atlanta households paying 30%+ of their income on housing by 10% by 2020 and create or retain 10,000 residential units for a range of incomes. 

These past few months have been provided so many wonderful examples of how the City of Atlanta is making progress on multiple fronts. In August alone, Invest Atlanta closed on financing for three key multifamily developments—Rolling Bends II, Springview Apartments, and Capitol View Apartments—all of which will provide affordable housing units for those earning 60% or below the Area Median Income (AMI). 

A few weeks ago, I helped cut the ribbon on the Gateway Capitol View senior housing development. Every one of the 162 senior families residing their will pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. 

And at last Thursday’s monthly meeting, our Board of Directors under the leadership of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took action to support several more Atlanta housing developments. One of the developments, 161 Peachtree, will be built on top of an existing parking garage in the heart of Downtown and will offer 70 units of workforce housing available to families earning 80% of AMI or below. 

Looking ahead, we’ll continue to use every program and tool at our disposal, with the goal of expanding the housing options available to Atlanta families across a wide range of neighborhoods, ages, and incomes.

- Dr. Eloisa Klementich