Atlanta Mayor Says $50 Million Housing Bond Order Is A 'Significant Step' Toward Affordable Homes

Atlanta GA

04 January, 2021

7:39 PM

Description

From the City of Atlanta: January 4, 2021 Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued the following statement upon the passage of legislation enacting her Executive Order to invest $50 million in new bond funding and setting the stage for $100 million in housing opportunity bonds to advance the goals of the One Atlanta: Housing Affordability Action Plan. "The passage of this legislation is a significant step in fulfilling our $1 billion commitment to the creation and preservation of affordable housing for all who call or wish to call Atlanta home," said Mayor Bottoms. "Thank you to City Council and our partners for assisting the Administration in ensuring that the future of this city does not price out our legacy residents or leave anyone behind." The Executive Order directs the issuance of $50 million in bonds for affordable housing, which will be structured to take advantage of the current low-interest rate environment. The City will be able to draw down these funds in a manner that minimizes the near-term costs to the City and allows time for Atlanta's economy to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Order also directs City officials to take the necessary actions to expand on these funds to ultimately issue $100 million in housing opportunity bonds. The City will deploy the $100 million in new affordable housing funds to repay the initial bonds and continue to implement the housing activities included in the Administration's Housing Opportunity Bond legislation, introduced earlier this year and stalled due to the impact of the pandemic on the City's finances. In 2019, Mayor Bottoms released the Administration's Housing Affordability Action Plan—a roadmap to increase the supply of housing in the City of Atlanta for a full spectrum of residents. This plan calls for the creation or preservation of 20,000 affordable homes by 2026 and investing City-controlled public sources in the production and preservation of affordable housing. Since taking office, the Bottoms Administration has committed more than $495 million to create or preserve more than 5,600 units of affordable housing. Visit the City of Atlanta's Affordable Housing Website to read the full plan and learn more about programming, policies and initiatives. This press release was produced by the City of Atlanta. The views expressed are the author's own.