At Invest Atlanta’s July monthly board meeting this morning, Mayor Kasim Reed and members of the Invest Atlanta board approved five projects that in total would create or retain 493 units of affordable and workforce housing. The new developments will increase the availability of affordable housing within Atlanta’s in-town communities and are located near MARTA transit lines.

“For Atlanta to remain a place everyone can call home, we must continue to prioritize affordability and mobility. I am proud that the Invest Atlanta board was able to support the creation of more than 490 units of affordable housing for working families,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “I believe it is essential for every public agency in Atlanta to prioritize affordability, and I look forward to continuing to work with the development community to ensure more of our residents have access to affordable, high-quality housing.”

“Under Mayor Reed’s leadership, the board took significant action in our efforts to create, rehab, and preserve affordable housing throughout Atlanta,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “Working with our partners at Atlanta Housing Authority, the City of Atlanta, and the Atlanta BeltLine Inc., our goal is to support 10,000 additional affordable units by 2020. Today we took another step forward to achieve this.”

The board approved resolutions dealing with five development projects:

• The Avery at Underground Atlanta: The board approved a $3.6 million Eastside TAD grant to develop a $36.7 million, 4-story workforce multifamily development within the heart of Underground Atlanta. Of the 180 total units, 150 (83%) will be income restricted to households earning 60% AMI or below and 30 units (17%) will be market-rate units targeted at households earning 80%-120% of AMI.

• Newport South Downtown Redevelopment: The board approved an $8 million Eastside TAD grant to Newport U.S. RE to renovate and adaptively reuse 38 buildings in South Downtown into a vibrant mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood. The development will include 52 residential units, 11 of which will be targeted to households earning 80% AMI. The overall project is estimated to create 2,300 new permanent jobs and have an economic impact of $260 million.

• King Memorial MARTA Transit-Oriented Development: The board approved a $6 million Eastside TAD grant to Place Properties to support the development of a $64.5 million, 385-unit modular multifamily community at the King Memorial MARTA station. Twenty-five percent of the units, or 93, will be income-restricted to households earning 80% AMI.

• Edgewood Court Apartments: The board approved an inducement resolution to issue $26.4 million in tax-exempt bonds to finance the acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of 222 units of multifamily affordable housing. These units are income-restricted to households earning 60% AMI, with residents paying no more than 30% of their income toward rent.

• Quest Village at D’alvigney: The board approved a resolution authoring a $245,800 loan from the Vine City Housing Trust fund to rehabilitate a 12-unit multifamily development at 694 and 700 D’alvigney Street. Quest Community Development Organization will manage the construction.

The Invest Atlanta board approved an unprecedented 27 resolutions, including 16 projects that address our city’s most important goals like job growth, affordable housing, mobility, and neighborhood revitalization. From catalytic projects, like Underground Atlanta and Colony Square to transit-oriented development at King Memorial MARTA station, to preserving affordable housing in Edgewood, these newly approved projects will help our city for years to come. In total, these projects will bring more than 7,000 new jobs, a total capital investment in our city of over $750 million, an economic impact of $1.5 billion, and almost 500 affordable workforce housing units close to our major employment centers.

Last month, the Invest Atlanta board approved resolutions supporting the creation and retention of 161 affordable housing units. Looking ahead, a significant amount of funding for affordable housing will be invested in the coming years. This $140 million in funding includes $40 million from Housing Opportunity Bonds, $26 million in Homeless Opportunity Bonds (along with an additional $25 million contribution from the United Way), $60 million through a funding agreement between Invest Atlanta and the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA), and $12 million from the Atlanta BeltLine Affordable Housing Trust Fund.