The affordable housing non-profit Habitat for Humanity and a veteran local homebuilder are partnering to establish a mixed-use housing development in Powder Springs-It is a project that’s breaking new ground in more than one way.
The rezoning to allow developers to move forward on the parcel of land in Powder Springs was approved 5-0 on a March 17 County commission vote.
“This is the first time we’ve built a neighborhood with a partner,” says Kyle Huhtanen, CEO of Habitat’s Northwest Metro Atlanta chapter.
He indicates their re-imaged structural arrangement comes out of an earlier rezoning proposal for building a Habitat-only neighborhood.
That proposal was denied by county commissioners more than three years ago.
“We felt like the appetite for a community that we would complete with one type of affordable home or starter home was not aligned with what mainly commissioners felt like they wanted,” says Huhtanen.
“It was just a concentrated area of (Habitat for) Humanity homes,” said District County Commissioner Monique Sheffield of the earlier idea that she came out against.
“It also adversely impacts economic development…it just kind of pulled down the median income in the area a little bit,” she added, saying that property owners in that part of the county also raised concerns such as traffic growth.
This time around, both planned for a pairing of Habitat homes designed to be affordable housing for such groups as teachers and public safety workers, with Brock Built homes constructed at the same time and those structures priced a current market values.
By contrast, the mortgages for the Habitat-originated dwellings will be capped at no more than 30 percent of a resident’s income.
Developers say both categories of homes will be built to high architectural standards, giving the neighborhood a cohesive look. The Habitat homes will be interspersed with Brock’s.
Huhtanen says the result will be a stronger community with homeowners representing different levels of life and home owning experience being brought together.
“We’re not just creating homes, we’re creating a balanced community, “ he says. And a faster-built one. Huhtanen says this allows Habitat to expand its reach and accelerate the delivery of high-quality homes.
The Brock-Habitat partnership arrangement has very much brought Sheffield on board as well. ”Absolutely,” she said. “I’m very supportive.”
The development will have two-thirds of the homes being built by Brock and one-third constructed under the Habitat umbrella, with all homes displaying high architectural standards.
The arrangement works like this, Habitat is providing the 11.5 acres of land needed, with Brock shouldering horizontal development on-site, such as roads and utilities.
Officials say lot preparation will have to be done first before earth is turned. Huhtanen thinks groundbreaking will happen in the fall of 2027.
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