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Athens Housing Authority proposes scaled-down Phase 3 for North Downtown to close $5.9 million gap
Summary
The Athens Housing Authority presented a revised Phase 3 plan for North Downtown Athens that reduces unit count and swaps structured parking for surface parking to cut costs; staff proposed a package of SPLOST reallocations, ground-lease dedication and a $1 million soft-pay loan to close a $5.9 million shortfall ahead of a May tax-credit application.
The Athens Housing Authority and county staff told the commission on April 16 that they will recommend master-plan revisions and a targeted financing package to advance Phase 3 of the North Downtown Athens affordable-housing redevelopment.
"Phase 1 was completed, occupied as of July 31, 2025, and that was at a 100% occupancy," Sheila Chris of the Athens Housing Authority said, reviewing the master-plan history and progress. Chris said the original five-phase plan anticipated rehousing about 183 Housing Choice Voucher/assisted units on site and yielding roughly 715 additional total units across all phases; COVID-era cost escalation and tax-credit limits have narrowed that projection to an estimated 511 units overall under current assumptions.
Staff presented several build options for Phase 3. Building to the original master-plan scale (about 185 units using a 4% tax-credit structure) would create an estimated $18.9 million funding gap, the presentation said. A smaller 140-unit option with a parking garage would cut the shortfall to about $14 million. The team proposed a 92-unit design with surface parking and a 9% tax-credit approach that reduces the estimated gap to about $5.9 million.
To close that smaller gap, staff and consultants outlined a combined package: reallocate $1,037,000 of housing-authority project-management fees to construction, dedicate two ground-lease receipts to North Downtown Athens (approximately $1.3 million to date), provide a $1,000,000 soft-pay loan from the affordable-housing special revenue fund, and secure additional SPLOST allocations with some deferred developer fees. "If we reallocate the ground leases...and provide a $1,000,000 loan...we can fill the $5,900,000 gap," staff summarized.
Commissioners pressed on parking and unit yield. One commissioner asked whether eliminating parking or reducing stalls was possible in the urban context; Chris said DCA (the tax-credit awarding authority) requires specific parking ratios tied to the application and that surface parking lowers cost compared with a parking garage but still must meet required spaces per unit.
Staff emphasized legal constraints on SPLOST funds: SPLOST dollars are limited to public infrastructure and cannot be used to pay for building construction. That constraint frames the county's suggested use of SPLOST funds (infrastructure and demolition) while leaning on the affordable-housing fund and deferred developer fees to address building-cost gaps.
Next steps include asking the commission to approve master-plan revisions and to consider a May commitment that would strengthen the LIHTC (low-income housing tax credit) application expected in early May. Presenters said a firm county commitment would improve scoring for the tax-credit award; if funding is confirmed, underwriting, bidding and an intergovernmental agreement would follow before construction and targeted phase-4 demolition.
The commission did not take an immediate vote during the work session; staff said they will return with specific agenda items seeking the commitments and that the tax-credit application schedule makes a May decision consequential.
