Atlanta opens door on first modular rapid-housing for homeless residents
The city of Atlanta unveiled its first modular multifamily housing development for people experiencing homelessness Wednesday, with studio units and wraparound services.
The units were built in Clio, South Carolina, and shipped more than 300 miles to city-owned property near Waterworks Reservoir Number Two in Berkeley Park, according to developer Darion Dunn, managing partner at Atlantica Properties, which also developed downtown’s The Melody shipping container project last year.
The first-of-its-kind development, Waterworks Village, has a utilitarian design and overlooks the nearby reservoir. And the modular technology could reshape how the city produces housing for vulnerable residents in the future, Dunn said.
Waterworks Village is part of Mayor Andre Dickens’ Rapid Housing Initiative to build 500 units of housing for the unhoused. The two, multistory modular buildings have about 100 units, and residents will have access to job training, substance abuse and mental health support.
The city determined, along with Atlanta Watershed Management, that the land near the Hemphill water treatment plant and reservoir should be repurposed for housing, Dickens said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We took underused watershed space … and turned it into something that is truly going to bring stability, dignity and hope to our neighbors who need it the most,” Dickens said.
“A warm and safe home can be the difference between life and death.”
Even still, Dickens suggested that a shift in federal funding could slow the city’s ongoing work to combat homelessness.
It takes millions of dollars each year to run supportive housing projects after they are built, he said, as costs add up for things like wraparound services and utilities.
Under the Trump administration changes announced in November, of the $3.9 billion in HUD Continuum of Care funds for homelessness, no more than 30% could go toward Housing First projects. Dickens said the city was counting on federal dollars to help with “the permanent supportive part” of combating homelessness.
“That becomes a tough thing to go forward when the Trump administration has said that they’re going to slash some of those funds,” Dickens told the media after a tour of the finished development.
The mayor added that the city will need to lean on state, county and philanthropic dollars to help close the gap, and that he was looking at other potential sources to complete his goal of creating or preserving 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030.
“I did not know that the potential would be that funding would be in jeopardy,” Dickens said. “We still need all the help we can get financially. I’m optimistic that we’re still going to hit our goal.”
Waterworks Village apartments are 250-square-foot units and include bathrooms and appliances. The buildings have communal spaces and offices.
Dunn said the project cost $17 million, or about $170,000 per unit, and that using the modular technology saved from four to six months compared to traditional construction.
“The industry still needs to catch up in terms of cost … but the time savings is where you’re getting the biggest benefit,” Dunn said.
He said more than 30 modules were fabricated by Vantem, which specializes in modular buildings, and transported to Atlanta, where contractors had already completed the foundation, water and sewer work.
Because of the logistics of using a crane to place the modules on the foundation, it was more practical to finish the elevator shafts and stairwells after the modules were installed.
“We want all of the apartments that we have around us to potentially use this type of technology so we can … raise the bar on how housing production is actually done in the city of Atlanta and for the nation, for that matter,” Dunn said.
Through a partnership with Project HEAL, an organization founded by Dr. Mark Holzberg and Dr. Adam Leaderman that provides housing for people experiencing homelessness, the development will have 30 units of housing reserved for residents who need on-site medical and mental health support.
Holzberg said that people experiencing homelessness are admitted to the hospital an average of four times a year and admitted to the emergency room on average six times a year.
“Would there be somebody at home who could take care of that individual, we could reduce the number of hospitalizations,” Holzberg said.
About the Author
Matt Reynolds is a housing reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's local government team.
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