Another Westside affordable housing venture is moving forward that would provide tenants with quick access to a range of greenspaces opened in Vine City and English Avenue in recent years.

The Simpson, as the 139-unit apartment proposal is called, is planned for former church property in the 800 block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard in Vine City, about a mile west of Georgia World Congress Center.

A $2-million Westside TAD Ascension Fund grant will help finance construction of the project, which is being developed by Integral Development and Quest Community Development Organization, Invest Atlanta recently announced.

The property is home today to a small former church building and parking lots. A church building on the northeast corner, the former Simpson Street Church of Christ, was razed several years ago.  

The Simpson project site in Vine City, in relation to Northside Drive and Georgia World Congress Center. Google Maps

Plans for The Simpson project from every angle. Courtesy of Invest Atlanta

The location is about four blocks due west of the new 16-acre Rodney Cook Sr. Park. Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park—a smaller greenspace honoring a 92-year-old grandmother fatally shot by Atlanta police in a botched drug raid—is located across the street from the housing site.

About a block away to the southeast, John F. Kennedy Park also received a makeover—partially funded by the NFL—in advance of Atlanta’s most recent Super Bowl.

Future development plans call for a mixed-use building by the same team along Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, across the street from the apartments and next to the memorial park.  

The Simpson site plan (bottom), with a future mixed-use component located across Joseph E. Boone Boulevard at top. Courtesy of Invest Atlanta

A tax-exempt loan for $28 million would cover the bulk of construction costs, per Invest Atlanta.

The Simpson project is expected to cost $55.1 million overall, with federal and state tax credits, the Westside Future Fund, the Vine City Housing Trust Fund, and Westside TAD providing other funding, among other sources.

For cheaper units, developers are seeking HomeFlex vouchers from Atlanta Housing that, if awarded, would mean residents will not pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent.

For all tenants, rents will be capped between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income. That could spell rents as low as $900 monthly for one-bedroom units with 700 square feet. Three-bedroom, two-bathroom options with 1,100 square feet would rent for $1,258, prior to voucher discounts, according to Invest Atlanta.  

The breakdown: 39 units at 30 percent AMI, 58 units at 60 percent, and 42 units at 80 percent.

Amenities planned for The Simpson include a computer center, business center, community room, gym, picnic area, and gazebo. Job training for residents will also be provided, according to development plans.

The project is expected to take 18 months to build. The most recent ETA, which could need revising, was sometime in 2023.

Have a closer look at the site and proposal in the gallery above.

• Vine City news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)