Mayor Andre Dickens and Atlanta Public Schools have announced plans to exchange two key pieces of publicly owned land to advance their shared affordable housing goals and better consolidate APS facilities.

Legislation introduced to City Council by Councilmember Jason Dozier on Monday would authorize the City to transfer ownership of property at 70 Boulevard, adjacent to Hope-Hill Elementary School in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Transferring the 1.5-acre parcel, which includes the gym and greenspace that the school already utilizes, will allow APS to consolidate on-campus facilities and improvements into a single contiguous, safely secured campus. In exchange, APS would transfer to the City a two-acre vacant property it owns at 405 Cooper Street SW, which the Mayor envisions as a critical piece of his strategy to holistically address homelessness.

The announcement comes after over a year of close coordination between APS and the City through the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Strike Force, a high-level partnership between local government and non-profit actors with a shared goal of activating public land to support affordable housing. The proposed land swap also comes on the heels of an Executive Order from the Mayor to implement the first phase of his Rapid Housing initiative, allocating $4 million to Partners for HOME (PFH), the City’s Continuum of Care provider, to deploy new quick-delivery housing for individuals experiencing homelessness.

The acquisition of 405 Cooper Street SW is poised to further support this initiative, providing a long-term site for quick-delivery housing and wraparound services that is easily accessible to key resources and transit access. By agreeing to a no-cost land swap with the City, APS is helping the City to quickly get to work activating the site to meet acute needs for rapid housing and supportive services. The Atlanta Board of Education is expected to consider this matter at its regularly scheduled September meeting.

“Thank you to APS for their enthusiastic support of the Affordable Housing Strike Force,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “This is just the latest milestone in an ongoing partnership, but significant in our efforts to ensure every Atlanta resident and every APS student has stable, dignified and high-quality housing.”

“I’m eager to work with Mayor Dickens and my District 4 constituents to shape the vision for this publicly owned vacant site, which represents a rare opportunity to meaningfully provide stable housing options for Atlanta residents currently experiencing homelessness,” said Councilmember Jason Dozier, whose district includes the 405 Cooper Street SW site.

“APS is honored to join with the City of Atlanta to support its efforts to combat homelessness. The land swap will increase the safety and well-being of students at Hope-Hill Elementary School and further emphasizes the importance of providing affordable housing options and access to key resources for students and the community. We recognize that when the school system and city work together to address community issues, it is a significant benefit to the community,” said APS Superintendent, Dr. Lisa Herring.