Images: At MARTA’s doorstep, transit-focused affordable housing tops out

Just inside the Interstate 285 loop’s eastern edge, blocks around one of MARTA’s last stops have become a hot zone for forthcoming, relatively affordable housing options in unincorporated Decatur.

The latest project to top out in the 3300 block of Kensington Road is called Phoenix Station, a 244-unit joint venture by LDG Development, Housing Authority of DeKalb County, and Housing Development Corporation.

The DeKalb County mid-rise stands across the street from MARTA’s Kensington station, the penultimate stop on the eastbound Blue Line, just east of the City of Decatur and Avondale Estates. It replaces a row of single-family homes.

According to HDC, the mixed-use project is expected to start delivering this fall, with a retail component at the base, facing the transit station.

Every one, two, and three-bedroom apartment at Phoenix Station will be reserved for families earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, with developers using 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, per HDC. Officials have previously said the homes will be attainable for tenants earning $52,000 annually for a family of four.

Beyond transit and retail access, Phoenix Station perks are expected to include a pool, playground, business center, and fitness center.

Phoenix Station marks the first component of affordable housing TOD ventures MARTA has planned around the Kensington Station. It’s also one of five more sites, from Bankhead to Brookhaven, where the transit agency is aiming to redevelop underused land near stations into housing and other active uses.

Meanwhile, just around the corner, the Resia Memorial Drive project continues to bring buildings out of the ground. It’s expected to start delivering the first of nearly 500 apartments this year across five buildings, with 20 percent of them reserved as rent-restricted workforce housing.

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook 

• Decatur news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)