Senator Jon Ossoff is putting his money where his mouth is, channeling a cool $2 million federal funding into the expansion of an affordable housing development in Atlanta's southside. According to WABE, the cash injection will bolster the Browns Mill Village near the Hapeville neighborhood, marking a bipartisan win in Congress’s appropriations package.
The Atlanta Habitat for Humanity has taken the reins on this project, which stands as their debut into the realm of mixed-income housing. They've got their sleeves rolled up on this since late 2021, with plans to build at least 75 single-family units, plus 59 townhomes in collaboration with Atlanta’s Cityscape Housing and Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership. As WABE reports, Ossoff took pride in the cross-party effort, saying, “It matters that we got this done with support of both parties in Washington.”
Not just content with building homes, Habitat CEO Alan Ferguson Sr. is sweetening the deal for potential homeowners by offering 0% interest on 30-year mortgages. "That’s the means where we create deep affordability for our homeowners," Ferguson told WABE. "So, on average they’ll pay for their housing cost between $750 and, maybe, $875 per month, and they own that home." Meanwhile, new homeowners won't be going it alone; Habitat plans to arm them with a 12-month educational program to help ensure the success of their first-time purchase.
Antonio Lewis, Atlanta City Councilman, highlighted the significance of the development for the southside, saying it brings vital low-cost housing options to the area. "We’re actually being intentional with everybody in the City of Atlanta," Lewis explained in an a interview with WABE. "They try to count rooftops in your community, so this brings rooftops and it keeps people who have already been here. It keeps us being able to afford it … so that means that we’re doing it right."
Ossoff's slice of the federal funding pie is earmarked for the first 20 homes of an additional 32 in the project’s second phase. This next installment is slated to kick off next year, hot on the heels of the first round of homes completing. With shovels already in the ground and blueprints turning into bricks and mortar, Atlanta’s southside is poised to see valued growth in its communities, along with the skyline.
