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Athens-Clarke County launches local housing fund and moves to reactivate land bank authority to speed affordable housing
Summary
Director Melinda Lord updated the commission on the county's Affordable Housing Investment Strategy, use of ARPA and other funds, and a new contract to stand up a local housing fund; the county also plans to reactivate a land bank and to consider a loan to support a senior LIHTC project.
Melinda Lord, director of Housing and Community Development for Athens-Clarke County, briefed the mayor and commission on Aug. 12 about progress on the county's Affordable Housing Investment Strategy. Lord said the county has allocated federal ARPA funds and other local resources to seed a local affordable-housing fund and is contracting an outside entity to operate that fund.
The strategy grew from a 2023 plan that estimated an approximate local shortage of 8,800 rental units affordable to households earning below about $35,000 a year. The plan recommended a mix of tools: a local housing fund, targeted use of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), acquisition and preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing, down-payment assistance and rehabilitating existing housing.
Lord told the commission that the…
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