In upscale Atlanta suburb, affordable housing project breaks ground

A north Atlanta suburb that’s become known for destination dining, upscale townhomes, and large-scale mixed-use redevelopment is moving forward with an affordable housing initiative walkable to its downtown, with names familiar to intown’s development scene attached. 

Affordable housing developer Pennrose is partnering with the Roswell Housing Authority and other Atlanta-based firms on a project called RHA Redevelopment Phase I, set to take shape at 199 Grove Way in the Fulton County city’s historic downtown. 

A ceremonial groundbreaking took place Thursday. The project is set to introduce relatively attainable living options where median home prices had climbed to nearly $680,000 in September, a 2.2 percent bump over last year, according to Redfin data. 

The location is a couple of blocks from Roswell City Hall and the forthcoming Hillrose Market infill district, roughly half a mile south of shopping and dining along Canton Street, a regional attraction.

The residential project will replace an aging, 95-unit complex called Pelfrey Pines that was razed in March due to “significant disrepair,” according to development officials. Plans call for more than 200 energy-efficient units renting at below market rates total. 

Phase one, as designed by Atlanta’s Smith Dalia Architects, is scheduled to deliver in early 2027. 

The building calls for 102 apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms, all reserved for residents earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income, or what project officials described as “a wide range of incomes” in an announcement.  

Along with access to downtown, Roswell schools, and public parks and trails, perks of phase one are expected to include a fitness center, rooftop terrace, community space, and on-site laundry and maintenance. 

About half of the apartments will be supported through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, with the rest being Rental Assistance Demonstration units delivered through an existing Housing Assistance Payments contract, per officials. 

The RHA Redevelopment's second phase will add another 102 mixed-income rentals across the street, for 204 total. (Once finished, the complex will offer 95 apartments subsidized by RAD funds in an effort to ensure residents from the original Pelfrey Pines complex will have first right to return to the new community—and to pay the same rents as before, per officials.)   

Additional partners in the project include H.J. Russell & Company and Thompson Ehle Company.

Will Eckstein, Pennrose’s regional vice president, said the goal with the “inclusive, thriving community” in Roswell will be to illustrate “a successful model for integrating quality, mixed-income housing into high-opportunity areas across the state,” according to a prepared statement. 

Phase I was funded through a combination of 9 percent LIHTC credits, along with $4.7 million from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, $3.3 million from DCA National Housing Trust Fund, $2 million from the City of Roswell, and $3.6 million in “TogetherATL Funds” from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. 

Pennrose, which has a regional headquarters in Atlanta, has been active in more centralized metro locations in recent years. 

Pennrose and Mercy Care, a medical services provider, developed 170-unit McAuley Park in Sweet Auburn and followed that last fall with the debut of sister project McAuley Station (also 170 units). On the Westside, Pennrose and Atlanta Housing Authority have closed on financing for the third phase of mixed-income public housing redevelopment Herndon Square. 

The developer is also a partner in a planned mix of affordable housing and commercial space along the Atlanta Beltline’s Northeast Trail corridor near Lindbergh. 

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook/and now: Instagram  

• Roswell news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)