Atlanta Set to Make Historic Affordable Housing Investment

A massive investment in affordable housing could be coming to the Atlanta metro area, with $200 million pledged by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and another $100 million slated to come from a proposed affordable housing bond. “Today’s announcement is a game-changer in our ability to have projects keep pace with a rapidly evolving market,” said Mayor Andre Dickens, who is working with the city council to pass the new bonds and has pledged to build or preserve 20,000 housing units by 2030.

As Maria Saporta explains in the Saporta Report, “The Community Foundation, working with local partners including the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Atlanta Regional Commission, estimates Atlanta is losing more than 1,500 affordable homes each year. Metro Atlanta is projected to add another 2.9 million people by 2050, and nearly 100,000 households will not be able to afford market prices.” The historic investment would still fall short of the estimated $1 billion needed to fully address the region’s affordability crisis.

“The efforts announced Tuesday morning build upon HouseATL, an initiative launched by dozens of nonprofit and for-profit leaders in 2018 to make recommendations on housing affordability.” The initiative’s recommendations included investing more in affordable housing, prioritizing anti-displacement initiatives, improving cross-sector collaboration, and empowering community members to participate in decisionmaking.