One of metro Atlanta’s most well-known megachurches is moving forward with a village-style housing development aimed squarely at people struggling to attain homeownership elsewhere. 

The mixed-use community now called “New Birth Village” is set for 33 acres in the largest city fully located in DeKalb County, Stonecrest. The site is just south of Interstate 20, about 17 miles east of downtown Atlanta. 

The acreage is owned by lead project developer New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which operates next door and is considered the largest land-owning Black church in the U.S. right now, with 270 contiguous acres in its DeKalb County portfolio.

Church leaders and other dignitaries held a groundbreaking and “blessing” ceremony June 21 for the New Birth Village project, which is eventually expected to create roughly 390 homes deemed affordable by church officials. 

Overview of the village site (in red) as part of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church's contiguous 270-acres of land in DeKalb County, just south of Interstate 20. Google Maps

New Birth Community Development Corporation is leading development at the multi-phase 6370 Woodrow Road site, located near the intersection of Evans Mill Road, due west of The Mall at Stonecrest. The goal, according to church leadership, is to open the door to homeownership (and generational wealth) with New Birth Village properties serving as either private residences or affordable investment homes.

Specifically, the project will target middle-class families who typically earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing initiatives but find homeownership in metro Atlanta increasingly out of reach. That will include young professionals, first-time homebuyers, public safety workers, seniors, teachers, nurses, and others, as Black Enterprise reported last month. 

Church officials say Down Payment Assistance programs will be available, and that potential homeowners will have “limited customization options” for personalizing the exteriors of homes. 

Here’s a breakdown of expected sizes and prices with New Birth Village’s first offerings: 

Breakdown of current home sizes and prices expected at New Birth Village at 6370 Woodrow Road in Stonecrest. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church/2024

The megachurch held another ceremonial groundbreaking at the same site two years ago for "The Benison ATL," a mixed-use proposal that called for 120 contemporary-style “mini homes” and townhomes in its first phase. 

New Birth officials told Urbanize Atlanta at the time the houses would range from 650 to 1,200 square feet, with prices starting at $150,000, but full construction planned for the fall of 2024 didn’t materialize. 

Home facades planned two years ago, when New Birth's "mini homes" concept was called The Benison ATL. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church/2024

New Birth Village isn’t the only large injection of new housing to recently move forward near Stonecrest’s I-20 corridor. 

Alpharetta-based homebuilder Parkland Communities is developing 389 housing units—a two-part residential project called Crestwind Township and Crestview Pointe, a mix of standalone houses and townhomes—on a formerly woodsy property just south of The Mall at Stonecrest.  

Parkland officials have called that location “the perfect reverse commute” for more than 7,000 employees expected to work at EV carmaker Rivian’s under-construction plant in Social Circle, which will operate another 25 miles to the east. 

The New Birth Village site (in red), in the context of eastern metro Atlanta. Google Maps

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