Affordable housing initiative delivers 5 new Westside abodes

An initiative that’s delivered actual standalone houses as a means of pushing back against Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis has officially wrapped two miles due west of downtown.

Nonprofit organization City of Refuge and GROWTH Homes have cut the proverbial ribbon on five new-construction, single-family homes in Hunter Hills that officials say will help boost more vulnerable populations in a quickly growing area.

After breaking ground in May last year, the batch of houses was recently finished adjacent to City of Refuge’s campus at 1300 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard. The goal, according to project leaders, was to provide pathways to homeownership for legacy residents with low to moderate incomes in the community.

Project reps tell Urbanize Atlanta each of the five homes has three bedrooms and square footages ranging from 1,310 to 1,388. They’ll sell for between $279,000 and $289,000. (For comparison’s sake, two renovated older homes of comparable size are currently on the market in the neighborhood, with prices of $350,000 and $400,000.)

One home is under contract with a City of Refuge staff member, and the other four are expected to be sold to buyers coming out of the organization’s pipeline, according to officials.

With the five new houses “we’re building a bridge to independence, stability, and equity for our city’s most vulnerable,” Bruce Deel, City of Refuge founder and CEO, said in a project announcement. “Some of these future homeowners will be residents currently living on City of Refuge’s campus, so to see them take that step is a true display of our mission at work.” 

The Westside homes mark City of Refuge’s third completed project.

The first, a rental community called The 1300, finished in summer 2020. And in March last year, a formerly vacant hotel property was unveiled as The 345, a 31-unit conversion project that caters to men on Atlanta’s Westside.

Ed Gorman, GROWTH Homes managing director, said the Hunter Hills project is part of the company’s broader effort to build 1,000 homes in partnership with the City of Atlanta. The work is made possible through collaborations with banking partners, often through Community Reinvestment Act investments, Gorman noted.

“We’re honored to contribute to City of Refuge’s impactful mission through the construction of these five homes,” Gorman said in a prepared statement, “knowing they will put affordable homeownership within reach of historically underserved homebuyers."

Find more context and a closer look at the recently built housing options in the gallery above.

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