The Invest Atlanta Board voted to approve a grant up to $534,000 from the Westside Tax Allocation District (TAD) to oaksATL Community Development LLC for the development of a neighborhood-scale, mixed-use development on Lindsay Street.

oaksATL is a non-profit development entity associated with Peace Preparatory Academy in the English Avenue neighborhood. Together they support low-income families holistically through access to quality education, safe and affordable housing and proximity to parks and employment. Housed in the Lindsey Street Baptist Church directly across from the future development, Peace Preparatory Academy serves school-aged children from pre-K through fifth grade.

Once complete, 557 Lindsay Street will be a three-story development that includes affordable multifamily units over a ground floor retail and office space. The development will feature six, two-bedroom, two-bath units priced for households earning between 50-60% area median income, about $47,000 a year for a four-person family. The ground floor will contain community-oriented retail and office space, in addition to a community laundry facility.

“I want to draw attention to the fact that [oaksATL] is creating housing for families who are attending the school,” said Fred O. Smith, Invest Atlanta Board member. “One challenge when it comes to education is that housing instability causes people to move from school to school to school, and it’s really difficult for kids to keep up. This is really one of the most exciting [projects] at this level of affordability. It’s exciting that we can be a part of it.”

In 2020, oaksATL was awarded $1 million in Westside TAD Community Improvement Fund grants to finance the renovation of 31 deeply affordable multifamily units in three buildings in English Avenue, which are complete and fully leased. The Lindsay Street project will augment these existing developments.