Historic Athens uses ARPA funds to rehab older homes, limit displacement

Tanisha Brooks, program coordinator for the Equitable Home Preservation Initiative at Historic Athens, said the ARPA-funded program makes targeted repairs to older homes to keep low- and moderate-income owners in place. The program focuses on houses at least 50 years old, provides up to $25,000 in rehabilitation per home under the EHP award, and is currently structured to serve one house per quarter (about $100,000 in rehab per year).

The initiative, Brooks said, grew in part from work tied to the Athens Justice and Memory Project (Linnentown descendants) and a community allocation process. Brooks said the Linnentown-related funds were reallocated across local projects; she described $500,000 as having been directed to the EHP program, with other amounts directed to downtown down-payment assistance and a Black History Center. She said the EHP award aims to prevent displacement in historic neighborhoods by repairing homes that owners cannot afford to fix.

Brooks described eligibility and outreach: applicants must provide proof of ownership, identification and income, and homes must lie within Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) the program serves now: Census Tracts 301 and 302 (East Athens and the Hancock Corridor). Historic Athens also runs a smaller “Hands On” repair track that provides up to $5,000 and can serve all of Athens; more extensive needs that exceed $5,000 are routed to EHP. Brooks said the program typically serves many elderly homeowners and that staff use in-person intake (mailing or taking applications to residents), tabling at community events and direct outreach to reduce barriers for people who are not “tech savvy.”

Program services Brooks listed include roof replacement, insulation removal and replacement, full bathroom tear-out and replacement for accessibility, foundation lifting and structural floor repairs, and replacement of water heaters when needed. She described one large early project that required pest control, attic sanitation and structural floor repairs, and said contractors sometimes donate in-kind work when unexpected needs arise.

To preserve affordability, Brooks said the EHP uses a prorated 10-year affordability period: owners do not repay the grant if they stay, but if they sell during the affordability term they must repay a prorated portion of the assistance. Brooks said the affordability term aims to discourage sales that would lead to displacement and to help keep homes in families across generations.

Brooks identified two main program constraints: (1) properties must be deeded correctly to the homeowner to qualify — she said unclear title or probate issues block some applicants and that Historic Athens has sought line items for legal assistance to clear deeds; and (2) the QCT limitation prevents serving homeowners outside the designated tracts even when they appear to have need. She said Historic Athens has applied for additional funding from HUD-related programs, private foundations and community partnership programs and is pursuing partnerships with local lenders and contractors.

Brooks described a current roof project that combines multiple funding sources and donated work: she said it uses money from Jackson EMC, $5,000 from the Hands On program (Community Development Block Grant funds) and roughly $6,000 in in-kind services from a contractor partner. Brooks named Above and Beyond (Anthony and Deborah London) as a principal general contractor partner who coordinates subcontractors and has donated in-kind services to multiple projects. She also said Historic Athens is working with United Community Credit Union on a “Preserve and Prosper” financial-literacy program for historic homeowners.

Brooks said Historic Athens documents projects with yard signs, completion forms and homeowner surveys and uses the surveys and outreach feedback to adjust scheduling and contractor coordination for elderly or ill homeowners. She asked for volunteers for minor beautification tasks, donations and in-kind legal and technical assistance. For applications and inquiries, Brooks gave Historic Athens’ office location at 489 Prince Avenue in Old Third Hall, unit 2; telephone (706) 389-0083; and email taneisha@historicathens.com.

The program description and details above come from an interview recorded as part of the Athens-Clarke County ARPA highlight series in which Cameron McLaughlin, equity and engagement coordinator in the People and Belonging Department, interviewed Tanisha Brooks, the EHP program coordinator at Historic Athens.