Columbus is asking residents to weigh in on a proposed 198-apartment senior housing development before the city asks the federal government to release funding for it. The project, called Harper Woods II, would rise at 5996 and 6000 Warm Springs Road as a second phase alongside the existing Harper Woods community, and the public comment window closes in less than two weeks.
Columbus Consolidated Government announced the comment period in a Facebook post Wednesday, October 21, 2026, inviting feedback on both the project's environmental review and its proposed release of federal funds. According to that announcement, Harper Woods II would be built as affordable housing restricted to residents ages 55 and older, with the Housing Authority of Columbus, Georgia taking on the project as phase two of the Harper Woods community.
The proposed building would be a single four-story structure holding 198 apartments in total — 56 one-bedroom units and 142 two-bedroom units, per the city's post. City officials say the development would expand housing options alongside the existing Harper Woods Phase I property.
What the Environmental Review Found
The city's environmental review concluded that the proposed project would have no significant impact on the environment, the announcement states. Residents who want to examine the full environmental review record can do so in person at City Hall, 1111 1st Avenue, third floor, during weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Written comments must be received by November 3 and should specify whether they address the environmental findings, the proposed funds release, or both, the city's post notes. Comments can be emailed to Emma Kimbrel, identified as a community reinvestment planner, at [email protected].
Timeline for the Federal Funding Request
Columbus Consolidated Government says it will weigh any comments received by the deadline before moving forward with its own request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That request, seeking release of Moving to Work block-grant funds, is planned for submission on or about November 4 — the day after the comment deadline closes.
HUD materials describing the broader process reference a Request for Release of Funds procedure and point to 24 CFR Part 58 as the governing framework for entities taking on HUD's environmental review responsibilities, according to the department's own guidance.
A Pattern of Senior Housing Growth in Columbus
Harper Woods II would join a city where senior and affordable housing has been expanding in recent years. The original Harper Woods development, completed in 2022, sits in northern Columbus next to Flat Rock Park off Warm Springs Road and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments built with EarthCraft construction meant to lower residents' monthly utility costs, according to TBG Residential.
Elsewhere in the city, a separate 52-unit affordable complex restricted to residents 55 and older broke ground as a $12 million project expected to finish in about a year, with qualifying tenants paying 60 percent of the market rental rate, as reported by WTVM. A Columbus Housing Authority member told the station that Muscogee County is short 15,000 affordable housing units, underscoring the scale of demand such projects are meant to address.
For now, the clock is running on public input. Anyone with views on the environmental findings or the proposed funding release has until November 3 to send comments to Kimbrel before the city's planned submission to HUD.
