Hello neighbors,
I wanted to share with you a great article sent out by the Atlanta Board of Realtors this past week regarding affordable housing initiatives in Atlanta. The City has authorized specialized dollars to go towards developing or redeveloping multi-family housing and rental units. Please read on...

City Allocates $1.5 Million for Multifamily Developers
The Atlanta Development Authority (ADA), the economic development agent for the City of Atlanta, will begin accepting applications from multifamily developers wishing to access federal HOME dollars.  The City has allocated $1.5 million of HOME dollars to ADA to provide loans for the acquisition, construction and/or rehabilitation of rental housing units.   HOME is a federally funded program that assists in the production and preservation of affordable housing for very low to moderate-income families and individuals.

Recognizing a shortage of housing stock for Atlanta’s middle class, a critical goal set forth in the mayor’s Economic Development Plan was to directly influence the production of 10,000 units of affordable housing by 2009 through city sponsored financial incentive programs.  Since 2005, through public investment, the city has added over 3,500 affordable units.  “The city has invested in affordable workforce housing over the past several years,” says Mayor Franklin.  “Clearly, we have a long way to go, but through continuous focus and innovation, we are moving the needle.”

Rental projects may receive up to $750,000 in low interest loans under this program.  “During this challenging economic climate, these dollars may provide the last layer of funding needed to make a transaction work,” says Ernestine Garey, Director of Housing Finance for ADA.  “These loans are at very flexible terms and will help developers attract conventional financing, which has become significantly more difficult to obtain as lenders today are adopting more stringent underwriting criteria.”

This program expands the financial toolkit offered by ADA to affordable housing developers.  For eligibility requirements, program details and to download the developer application, please visit:  http://www.atlantada.com/buildDev/HOMEmultifamilyFinancing.jsp.

Other multifamily products offered by ADA include; tax exempt bond financing, housing opportunity bond loans, and Community Housing Development Organizations specific loans.  Each financial product has different rules and regulations.

In addition, ADA influences the production of affordable housing through its tax allocation district program.  To encourage home ownership, they also offer several down-payment assistance programs for homebuyers seeking to move out of rental and into ownership.