Proposal to use surplus city property for affordable housing (Atlanta: real estate, rental)

[cqholt]

The idea sounds simple enough – provide Atlanta’s surplus property for use as construction sites for housing that’s affordable for a schoolteacher.

Katrina Taylor Parks, deputy chief operating officer in Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration, asked the committee to delay action. The administration wants to review the city’s 1,419 surplus properties to determine if they serve no public purpose now, or are expected to serve no public purpose in the foreseeable future.
Of those 1,419 surplus properties, 1,188 might be needed in the future, Parks said. They are under the purview of one of three departments: parks and recreation, public works, and watershed.
That leaves 231 parcels that could be provided for the proposed program. Parks said none of these parcels are associated with the Atlanta Public Schools, which has a history of contesting the city’s ownership claims over certain properties.

Proposal to use Atlanta

[samiwas1]

I'd love to see a map of all those properties. This sounds like a great idea.

[tikigod311]

Might not be thinking this all the way through, but it seems like it could be a really good idea. If they already own the property, they can finance construction / rehab and make these places marketable to rent or buy. They could make money at it even, but I think it would be right for them to set housing at a rate where the city just breaks even.

It would be interesting to see if they owned a lot of property on the west side. If so, they could add to the market a bunch of affordable rental units. If I'm thinking about this right, that could raise the value by occupying units and will simultaneously temper comps to help prevent housing prices from skyrocketing. I will admit, real estate is not my strong suit.

I would like to see some accounting / finance people take a closer look, but this sounds interesting.

[oldschoolChevy]

I like that idea. Hopefully something comes of it.

[StoicTao]

Serious question: are there other demographic quotas to meet to receive affordable housing besides household income? For example family size, race, sex, etc?

[George Chong]

Originally Posted by StoicTao

Serious question: are there other demographic quotas to meet to receive affordable housing besides household income? For example family size, race, sex, etc?

Familial status, race and sex are protected via the Fair Housing Act

https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD...aws/yourrights