ARPA Affordable Housing Phase 1

Purpose:

  • Immediately implement long-lead-time projects to create and preserve affordable housing. 

Goals:

  • New housing creation and the preservation of existing affordable stock will be prioritized over housing programs
  • Prioritize projects that are “shovel ready” and feasible (land acquisition should only be paired with construction projects)
  • Projects should generally align with existing recommendations from the GICH Report, Envision Athens Agenda, Workforce Housing Study, Comprehensive Plan, or ACCGov Strategic Plan
  • Emphasis will be placed on supporting projects within the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas (census tracts 6, 9, 301, and 302)
  • Projects will be capped to serve individuals at 80% AMI, and will be incentivized to serve individuals with lower AMIs
  • Larger projects will generally be prioritized over smaller projects (a single project may include a variety of related initiatives)
  • Funding for program administration will be limited
  • Prioritize projects that leverage external resources


Budget

This chart shows the amount of funding dedicated to each project within the ARPA Affordable Housing bucket. In total $6.13 million has been allocated to six Phase I Affordable Housing project subrecipients. This funding will be used to build new affordable housing, as well as to renovate and weatherize existing affordable properties. ACCGov is currently in the process of contracting with recipient organizations.

Affordable Housing Budget Chart as of 2/9/2023

Application Process & Timeline

ARPA Affordable Housing Timeline


Staff Recommendation Presentation