Athens-Clarke County officials and consultants outline plan to stand up local housing trust fund

Athens‑Clarke County commissioners and outside consultants met for a stakeholder engagement session to review plans to create a local housing trust fund (HTF) that would provide revolving loans for affordable housing projects and programs.

The meeting—framed as Phase 1 of a multi‑phase effort—reviewed the fund’s FY25 seed allocation, recent loans that drew on the fund, legal limits on county management, likely administrative structures, candidate revenue streams and next steps for developing loan products, underwriting and staffing.

Why it matters: Commissioners and consultants said the HTF is intended to provide a flexible, lower‑cost source of capital to make affordable housing deals “pencil out” where federal and state funding either cannot be used or is too restrictive. The HTF is structured as a revolving loan fund, meaning loans are repaid into the fund to be reused for future projects.

Key facts and recent actions - In FY25 the mayor and commission approved a total allocation of $5,441,000 toward HTF‑related activities. That allocation was described in the presentation as split among three lines: LIHTC gap financing ($2,441,000), a single‑family affordable housing fund ($2,000,000) and an acquisition fund ($1,000,000). The presenters said later actions (October votes) approved two loans that drew on that pool: a $3,500,000 loan for North Downtown Athens Phase 2 and a $1,000,000 loan for Classic City Heights. Those loans reduced available balances across the lines. - Presenters reported current approximate balances at the time of the meeting: LIHTC gap financing roughly $11,000, the single‑family fund about $1,500,000 and the acquisition fund just under $1,000,000 (presenter figures in the meeting). The consultants described…