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Affordable Housing
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In March 2022 the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission defined five ARPA program areas, including an affordable housing bucket initially funded with $11 million. Since that time additional projects within the affordable housing umbrella have been approved, for a total of $15.4 million in ARPA funds set aside for affordable housing projects.
Over the coming decade future affordable housing investments will be guided by a community-wide Affordable Housing Investment Strategy, which is described below.
Relevant History
| March 11, 2020 | COVID-19 Global Pandemic. | |
| March 11, 2021 | American Rescue Plan (ARPA) signed into law. | |
| January 6, 2022 | U.S. Treasury releases Final Guidance. | |
| March 1, 2022 | M&C Approve ARPA Pro Forma - $11M for Affordable Housing. | M&C Minutes (pg 2) |
| May 17, 2022 | M&C Allocate $1.73M from ARPA Affordable Housing to North Downtown Athens Project (NDAP). | M&C Agenda (pg 1) M&C Minutes (pg 2) |
| June 7, 2022 | M&C approved concept for ARPA Affordable Housing Phase I – up to $5.7M. | M&C Minutes (pg 12) |
| August 2, 2022 | M&C approve Housing Affordability Investment Strategy consultant - $160k. | M&C Agenda (pg 631) M&C Minutes (pg 13) |
| September 6, 2022 | M&C allocate $4M placeholder for NDAP financing. | M&C Agenda (pg 377) M&C Minutes (pg 17) |
| November 15, 2022 | M&C make additional $4M Allocation to NDAP permanent. | M&C Agenda (pg 1) M&C Minutes (pg 1) |
| December 6, 2022 | M&C vote to approve $1.25 million to the Athens Justice and Memory Project (AJMP) Affordable Housing Project. | M&C Agenda (pg 280) M&C Minutes (pg 10) |
| December 13, 2022 | M&C vote to partially fund six Phase I Affordable Housing proposals, for a total of $6.2 million. | M&C Agenda (pg 124) M&C Minutes (pg 5) |
| June 6, 2023 | M&C vote to approve RFP concept for Athens Justice & Memory Project Preservation of Affordable Housing Projects. | M&C Agenda (pg 125) M&C Minutes (pg 5) |
| October 3, 2023 | M&C voted to approve Affordable Housing Investment Strategy (AHIS). | M&C Agenda (pg 342) M&C Minutes (pg 13) |
| November 7, 2023 | M&C vote to approve staff recommendation to award Historic Athens $531,600 for their Equitable Home Preservation Initiative. The M&C also voted to approve staff recommendation to re-release and RFP for down payment assistance. | M&C Agenda (pg 298) M&C Minutes (pg 7) |
| December 4, 2023 | ACCGov staff re-released the RFP for Athens Justice & Memory Project Preservation of Affordable Housing Projects via Down Payment Assistance. | |
| March 5, 2024 | M&C vote to approve staff recommendation to award First American Bank & Trust $718,400 for their HOME (Helping Overcome Mortgage Encumbrance) Down Payment Assistance Program. | M&C Agenda (pg 44) M&C Minutes (pg 2) |
| October - December 2024 | ACCGov worked with ARPA subrecipients to execute amendments to existing contracts, adding language regarding periodic recapture of unspent ARPA funds. | |
| January 1, 2025 | Athens Land Trust and EADC failed to meet the initial 25% expenditure target for their new construction contracts. | |
| March 4, 2025 | M&C voted to accept both organizations' action plans and to recommend against recapture of funds within the two contracts. | M&C Agenda (pg 37) M&C Minutes (pg 10) |
| July 1, 2025 | First American Bank and Trust failed to meet their initial 25% expenditure target, citing a low supply of market rate homes available within the price range affordable to low to moderate income buyers. Between late 2024 and 2025 ACCGov approved minor modifications to the project scope to increase the income limit within QCT's from 80 to 120% of AMI and the allowable amount of down payment assistance from $25,000 to $45,000. | |
| September 2, 2025 | M&C voted to accept First American Bank and Trust's action plan to meet the next expenditure deadline, and recommend against recapture for their down payment assistance contract. | M&C Agenda (pg 497) M&C Minutes (pg 12) |
| December 2, 2025 | M&C voted to approve reallocation of $273,674.95 in funding to the Habitat for Humanity Micah's Creek project. This funding was recaptured from the Economic Justice Coalition following a voluntary request to terminate their Homelessness and Workforce Development contracts. The additional funding will be used to address cost overruns related to infrastructure for the development of Micah's Creek. | M&C Agenda (pg 509) |
Funded Projects
- Phase I Affordable Housing
- North Downtown Athens Redevelopment Project
- Athens Justice and Memory Project Affordable Housing Preservation
- Affordable Housing Investment Strategy
- 853 Reese St (Mack Burney House) Rehab
$6.4 million has been allocated to fund six Phase I Affordable Housing projects
- New construction of affordable homes for purchase by low to moderate income buyers (2 projects)
- New construction of affordable homes for rent, paired with programming to assist renters in building their savings
- Repair and weatherization available to low-income homeowners in certain parts of the county (2 projects)
- Repair and weatherization of a multifamily property
Visit the ARPA data hub to view Phase I project outcomes to date.
$7.47 million in ARPA funds have been allocated to the North Downtown Athens Project (NDAP). This project is a public-private partnership between Athens Housing Authority, ACCGov, and private developers, and will result in the redevelopment of the Bethel Midtown property into a mixed income residential community. More information can be accessed using the links below.
External Website: https://ndathens.com/
SPLOST 2020 Affordable Housing project page
$1.25 million was designated to be used for affordable housing preservation via home repairs and downpayment assistance. This funding was allocated in response to the recommendations of the Athens Justice and Memory Project. ACCGov staff issued a Request for Proposals from qualified organizations in June 2023 and received one proposal from Historic Athens for home repair projects.
On November 7, 2023, the M&C voted to approve staff recommendation to award $531,600 to the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation (dba Historic Athens) for their Equitable Home Preservation Initiative. The M&C also voted to approve staff's recommendation to re-release an RFP for down payment assistance.
On December 4, 2023, ACCGov staff re-released the RFP for Athens Justice & Memory Project Preservation of Affordable Housing Projects via Down Payment Assistance.
On March 5, 2024, M&C vote to approve staff recommendation to award First American Bank & Trust $718,400 for their HOME (Helping Overcome Mortgage Encumbrance) Down Payment Assistance Program. This program began operation in June 2024.
Outcomes to date for the Historic Athens EHP project are included on the Rehabiliation and New Construction Outcomes page on the ARPA Data Hub. Down payment assistance outcomes are communicated on the HOME Down Payment Assistance Programs hub page.
Athens-Clarke County worked with HR&A Advisors, a consultant, to develop an Affordable Housing Investment Strategy. This strategy document will guide the decisionmaking process around affordable housing over the coming years. Mayor and Commission voted on October 3, 2023 to approve the final version of the Affordable Housing Investment Strategy.
$156,310 was approved for the purpose of supplementing existing HOME funding for Athens Land Trust's rehabilitation and conversion of the historic Mack Burney House into four one-bedroom units. These ARPA funds were used for general construction cost overruns related to construction cost increases, as well as the construction of a 9 space parking area on site. This funding was approved on February 6, 2024 and expended in March 2024.