Decatur’s commission approved an intergovernmental contract with the city’s development authority to facilitate a “cottage court” pilot project near the downtown commercial district.

A cottage court is style of affordable housing made available by the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, passed last year. The specific site chosen is a half-acre on Commerce Drive across from the Ice House loft apartments. It’s anticipated the land will provide between five to nine stand-alone single-family homes no more than 1200 square feet, a story-and-a-half tall and sharing common green space.

City Manager Peggy Merriss estimates the cost as $250,000 to $300,000 per unit. The housing will be marketed to young professionals, empty nesters, service-sector employees or those who make roughly 80 percent of the city’s median household income.

Merriss said the next step is lining up a design architect and land planner for the site.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez