A group of nonprofits and corporations is quietly raising up to $100 million to help preserve affordable housing on near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Wednesday.

Reed said the private sector backed fund would be part of a broader public-private effort to address the city’s crunch on affordable housing. The goal is to prevent the displacement of longtime residents on the city’s Westside by buying existing apartment communities and land.

Property taxes on the home of lifelong Old Fourth Ward resident resident Helene Mills, 90, have skyrocketed in recent years because of luxury construction along Atlanta’s Beltline. The retired tax auditor and senior advocate said residents of the historically black neighborhood worry they won’t be able to stay.

Reed said at an event Wednesday the real estate fund, along with other affordable housing programs, could be “scalable” to use in other parts of the city.

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