Beltline’s affordable housing program starts up despite shakeup, economy
May 14, 2009 at 6:58 am by Thomas Wheatley in News
No matter how green its parks, sleek its streetcars and well-maintained its bike trails, should the planned Beltline become a playground solely for the well-heeled, it will have failed at one of its core objectives.
From its beginnings, one of the most important initiatives of the $2.8 billion Beltline project has been to ensure that people of all incomes have an opportunity to live near or along the 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit. And even more importantly, to prevent Atlanta from repeating the past mistake of sweeping out longstanding communities for the cause of revitalization.
With last November’s referendum to allow school systems to legally participate in redevelopment projects — and the Atlanta Public Schools’ recent decision to once again opt into the Beltline’s tax allocation district — the largest public works endeavor of its kind in the country is now moving closer to becoming a reality.
According to Beltline legislation, 15 percent of the taxpayer dollars used to fund the project — about $240 million — must be set aside for affordable housing. The goal: 5,600 affordable units distributed throughout Atlanta over the 25-year lifespan of the project’s TAD, its main funding source. The first round of that funding, totaling $8.3 million, is currently under way.
“Arguably, that’s the largest single pot of money for affordable housing in the city of Atlanta,” says Bruce Gunter, president and CEO of affordable-housing developer Progressive Redevelopment Inc., who’s pushed for mixed-income communities and work force housing for more than 20 years. “I remember when you couldn’t get diddly for affordable housing.”
But the program had the misfortune to kick off in the middle of the big real estate meltdown. And the advisory board tasked with helping guide the program was recently told of an unforeseen ethical snafu.
In December, Gunter, then chair of the Beltline Affordable Housing Advisory Board, asked Ginny Looney, the city’s ethics officer, whether he and his fellow board members would be allowed to apply for the affordable housing incentive funds.
Continue reading “Beltline’s affordable housing program starts up despite shakeup, economy”
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
May 14th, 2009 at 10:28 am
That’s a great goal – hope this happens.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Hopefully these affordable housing units won’t degenerate into the sketch haven that exists now on Boulevard between Ponce and Freedom Pkwy.
May 15th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
$8.3 million sounds like a nice chunk of change for affordable housing. But the BeltLine 5-Year Plan said that $42 million would be invested in affordable housing, and $8.3 million is way below that target. How does the affordable funding number compare with other areas of BeltLine progress? For example, $66 million was paid to Wayne Mason for his land and over $3 million was paid to Ben Rainey (even though Rainey failed to do anything he was supposed to do for the BeltLine). Who can educate me as to how and what the BeltLine is really doing on the affordable housing front?