On Wednesday, Gwinnett County commissioners signed off on a 174-unit affordable apartment complex on 6.45 acres along McGinnis Ferry Road, dropping income-restricted housing directly into one of the county’s fastest-growing corridors. The five-story building is planned to sit above a tucked-under parking deck and include 35 one-bedroom, 124 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units. Developer filings say every apartment will be reserved for households earning no more than 60% of the area median income.
As detailed by Gwinnett County, the rezoning request is listed as case REZ2026-00017 for 2730 McGinnis Ferry Road and seeks a change from RA-200 to MRR on the 6.45-acre parcel. The county paperwork lays out the unit mix, acreage and the variances and waivers the developer requested as part of the site plan. WSB-TV reported that county commissioners granted final approval and that no one spoke against the project at the public meeting, a small surprise in a region where rezoning fights are practically a contact sport.
Project details and financing
Balsam Green LLC plans to finance the complex using federal low-income housing tax credits, which typically require affordable rent and income restrictions for at least a 15-year compliance period. "We are tied to this thing for that minimum of 15 years," CEO Mark Laverty told the planning commission, as quoted by WSB-TV. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs, which helps administer the state's housing tax credit program and oversees post-award compliance, spells out the allocation and monitoring rules developers must meet before construction can begin, according to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Local reaction and the bigger picture
Supporters say the complex will add badly needed affordable family units in a part of Gwinnett that has been growing fast, while some residents worry the project’s scale will not be enough to meaningfully slow rising rents. A recent piece that chronicled similar, smaller preservation and conversion efforts around Metro Atlanta underscored how local officials are piecing together modest projects and aid programs into a regional patchwork response to affordability pressures.
What comes next for the site
Balsam Green still has to secure the federal tax credits before breaking ground, and the company has said it expects an answer in September. The Planning Commission's minutes flag conditions, variances and waivers tied to the rezoning that must be resolved during the county permitting process, according to Gwinnett County.
For now, the approval locks in a sizeable block of income-restricted units in an interchange-adjacent corridor, although whether the development actually eases local housing strain will hinge on competitive tax-credit awards and how many similar projects make it through the funding pipeline. County staff and the developer say they will release a construction and leasing timeline once financing and permitting are finalized.
