HUD Secretary Visit to Atlanta Highlighted Need for Investment in Housing and Community Revitalization

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms visited senior community Herndon Square.

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and President and CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Lisa Y. Gordon lead the tour of Browns Mill Village in Southeast downtown Atlanta.

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and CEO of Habitat for Humanity International Jonathan Reckford live streamed a one-on-one conversation about the need for affordable housing.

On September 27, 2021 HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge visited the City of Atlanta to amplify the Bidens-Harris Administration's Build Back Better agenda and housing investment of construction, rehabilitation, economic development, and community revitalization.

U.S Senator Jon Ossoff, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, U.S. Representative Nikema Williams, City of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and HUD's Atlanta Field Policy and Management leadership team joined Secretary Fudge's tour of Herndon Square. During the opening remarks, Mayor Lance Bottoms emphasized the importance of promoting affordable housing and said, "It is an honor to host Secretary Fudge and members of Congress to discuss the importance of housing rehabilitation and community revitalization as we build back better, together." Senator Warnock added "Housing is dignity. Housing is necessary, critical infrastructure."

The Herndon Square community is built on the previous Herndon Homes public housing site consisting of 12 acres in the Westside of Atlanta. The City of Atlanta, Atlanta Housing, and Hunt Companies partnered to redevelop the new Herndon Square rental community for seniors 62 and older, featuring 97 rental units and 32 townhomes for sale. The mixed-use and mix-income redevelopment is being constructed in 5 phases and is scheduled to be completed in 2027. Funding partners for this project include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Atlanta Housing, and Invest Atlanta.

Additionally, Secretary Fudge, Senator Ossoff, and Congresswoman Williams stopped by Habitat for Humanity's Browns Mill Village in Southeast downtown Atlanta. President and CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Lisa Y Gordon led the tour. A fraction of the Browns Mill Village homes is dedicated to offering affordable homeownership opportunities to low-income households that are below 80% of the Area Median Income. Also, qualified first-time home buyers will have access to down-payment assistance programs to safeguard their purchases.

Secretary Fudge concluded the trip by participating in a one-on-one live streamed conversation with the CEO of Habitat for Humanity International Jonathan Reckford. "There's not enough housing, so the Build Back better plan would put in place about two million new homes and or homes that have been retrofitted in some way," said Secretary Fudge. "The other thing we're doing is trying to find ways to rehabilitate and rebuild neighborhoods that are already existing, you know low-income housing that we can actually purchase and start to revitalize these communities."

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