City of Atlanta issued the following announcement on Dec. 10.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will issue an Executive Order to invest $50 million in new bond funding to advance the goals of creating or preserving 20,000 affordable homes by 2026 and investing City-controlled public sources in the production and preservation of affordable housing. The Order supports Mayor Bottoms’ larger goal of investing $1 billion in affordable housing in Atlanta from both public and private funds.
“In keeping with our $1 billion commitment to affordable housing, I am pleased our team has found a path to continue the momentum of our One Atlanta: Housing Affordability Action Plan,” said Mayor Bottoms. “Despite the financial impact of COVID-19, our Administration remains committed to securing and creating quality, affordable housing for our legacy residents and all who call Atlanta home.”
The Executive Order directs the issuance of $50 million in bonds for affordable housing, which will be structured to take advantage of the current low-interest rate environment. The City will be able to draw down these funds in a manner that minimizes the near-term costs to the City and allows time for Atlanta’s economy to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Order also directs the City’s officials to take the necessary actions to expand on these funds to ultimately issue $100 million in housing opportunity bonds. The City will deploy the $100 million in new affordable housing funds to repay the initial bonds and continue to implement the housing activities included in the Administration’s Housing Opportunity Bond legislation, introduced earlier this year and stalled due to the impact of the pandemic on the City’s finances.
Subsequent legislation to execute these actions will be introduced today through legislation to the Atlanta City Council by the Administration.
In 2019, Mayor Bottoms released the Administration’s Housing Affordability Action Plan—a roadmap to increase the supply of housing in the City of Atlanta for a full spectrum of residents. Since taking office, the Bottoms Administration has committed more than $495 million to create or preserve more than 5,600 units of affordable housing.
Visit the City of Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Website to read the full plan and learn more about programming, policies and initiatives.
You can view Mayor Bottoms’ Executive Order here online.
Original source can be found here.
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