Public Housing Authorities address Atlanta Affordable Housing Challenge

left to right: Terri Lee City of Atlanta Housing, Bill Boling Founder and host Atlanta Housing Forum, Pete Walker of the Housing Authority of DeKalb County, HUD SE Region Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett, Leija Prljaca of Lawrenceville Housing Authority, Pete Waldrep of Marietta Housing Authority, Michael German HUD and Brandon Riddick-Seals Interim President and CEO Atlanta Housing.

HUD SE Region Administrator Denise Cleveland Leggett addresses the audience as Bill Boling host and audience listen intently.

Opening to a packed room of over 200 housing industry professionals and community leaders during the Spring Atlanta Housing Forum at St. Luke Cathedral attendees focused on the Atlanta Housing, Marietta Housing and Housing Authorities of Marietta and Lawrenceville efforts to address affordable housing needs in the Atlanta Region. HUD Southeast Region Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett attended and provided some closing remarks recognizing the ongoing challenge of affordable housing in the region and some of the success being borne from their efforts.

Brandon Riddick-Seals, interim president and CEO of Atlanta Housing provided a presentation answering questions about what the housing authority is doing to create more affordable housing especially after years of slow growth in that area.

Highlighting the housing authority's ongoing efforts Riddick-Seals provided the following update:

• New Bankhead Courts, adjacent to Atlanta Industrial Park, will be a mixed-use development with 30% of its 320 units affordable
• New Bowen Homes, located at its former location along Donald Hollowell Parkway just inside the Perimeter, will be a mixed-use development with 30% of its 1,192 units affordable
• Englewood North in Chosewood Park will be a mixed-use development with 950 units, 40% of which will be affordable
• Herndon Square in English Avenue will consist of 40% of its 715 units affordable, including nearly 100 homes for seniors, which are under construction
• SoNo/301, north of Central Park Old Fourth Ward, will be a mixed-use development with 40% of its 339 units affordable Completion date is project to be in 2022
• Palmer House, north of Centennial Olympic Park, will be a mixed-use development, with184 units affordable for seniors. Completion in 2021

Leija Prljaca of Lawrenceville Housing Authority, Pete Waldrep of Marietta Housing Authority and Pete Walker of the Housing Authority of DeKalb County discussed their respective roles to provide more context for the challenge based on their location and sizes.

Prljaca provided a glimpse of the challenge in Gwinnett County especially in the northeastern suburbs as it leads the region in median rents, more than half of its renters are cost-burdened, she says. The Lawrenceville Housing Authority also developed 70 properties, help to create some impactful transitional housing programs for homeless to include women with children, and is providing much needed resources for many families having to live in extended-stay motels in areas in Norcross.

Walker advocated the need to be designated a "Move to Work" housing authority empowering it to be more flexible and creative in its approach to providing affordable housing. Walker related that renters often can't find landlords that are willing to accept the publicly-funded voucher payment.

"In DeKalb, we don't really have a utilization issue," Walker said relative to the housing choice voucher program. "What we have is a perception issue." The housing authority continues to work hard with landlords and tenants to address the issue.

Waldrep explained that the Marietta Housing Authority continues to focus on a growing senior population and are providing senior housing in their number one priority. Additionally, he related that the housing authority experienced significant success in its self-sufficiency program where over 150 housing tenants graduated from their program over the last five years and are working and consequently living outside of public housing.

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