Atlanta residents can now follow along as the city makes progress toward Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' promise of a $1 billion investment in affordable housing by 2026. A new online tool, dubbed the Atlanta Housing Affordability Tracker, will track the number of affordable homes underway and the financing dedicated to each project.
The data is also broken down by project type, the funding source, and affordable units by zip code.
The tracker shows that since January 2018, 3,506 affordable units — both new construction and renovations — have been completed or are underway. According to the tracker’s numbers, $251.6 million in public funds have been dedicated to funding the units.
“With this tool, residents, partners and stakeholders alike can track the city’s investment and production in achieving the administration’s affordable housing goals,” Chief Housing Officer Terri Lee said in a news release Monday.
Last summer, Bottoms released the Housing Affordable Action Plan, a 43-page document aimed at combating rising housing costs and the displacement of longtime residents.
Bottoms’ extensive plan calls for finding ways to use existing public dollars and land as an incentive to attract private sector investment. The plan also includes changes in zoning, expediting redevelopment of vacant and blighted properties, developer incentives, and the creation of a housing innovation lab.
According to the news release, the data represents commitments from city agencies, such as the city’s economic development agency Invest Atlanta and Atlanta Housing.
The dashboard will be updated on a quarterly basis, city officials said. Future versions of the dashboard will include private and philanthropic funds committed to the development of affordable housing.
HOUSING BY THE NUMBERS: Since January 2018, 3,506 affordable units have been completed or are underway. $251.6 million in public funds have been dedicated to funding the units, according to the city’s newly released tracker. Under Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ affordable housing plan, there will be 20,000 affordable units by 2026.