AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE HOUSING OPPORTUNITY AGREEMENT APPROVED TODAY

Bonds Will Create $75 Million Fund and Provide Housing Choices
for over 3,000 Workers

(March 5, 2007) Today, the Atlanta City Council approved the agreement to establish the Affordable Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund which is critical in fulfilling Mayor Franklin’s New Century Economic Development Plan goal of creating 10,000 new affordable workforce housing units by 2009.

In mid-March, the Atlanta Housing Opportunity, Inc (AHO) will approve the Intergovernmental Agreement between the AHO and the City; the AHO will also approve the Program Administration Agreement authorizing URFA to manage the program. URFA will approve the Program Administration Agreement and URFA will authorize the issuance of the first bond series.

The first bonds are expected to be issued in April for approximately $35 million and will provide affordable housing options for 3,000 workers. The initial proceeds will be spent over a five year period. Some of the programs will be administered as revolving loan programs, creating funding for additional units.

“This is a giant step forward in offering working men and women and their families the chance to live in the City. Creative public policy solutions like the BeltLine and these Housing Opportunity Bonds afford thousands the option to live in the City where they work, where they can enjoy greenspace, walk and use public transportation in the same neighborhoods they live in. I think that improves the quality of life for all of us and makes our city more vibrant and exciting,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin.

The Fund will incentivize the creation of new affordable workforce housing units and preserve existing housing units by providing mortgage down-payment assistance, direct land acquisition, multi-family loans, home builder incentives and loans for community housing development organizations.

The Fund is a partnership between the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) and the Urban Residential Finance Authority (URFA), a subsidiary of the Atlanta Development Authority.

• The City of Atlanta will designate how funds are to be spent and the policies for expenditure.
• AHA has created a new non-profit organization, Atlanta Housing Opportunity, Inc., which is governed by a board selected by AHA.
• URFA will issue $75 million in taxable bonds.
• The Atlanta Housing Opportunity, Inc., will subcontract the management and implementation of the program to URFA.

Organizations such as the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA), Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc., (ANDP), the faith-based community and other non-profit organizations have been working on this issue for more than 20 years. During Mayor Franklin’s first-term the Housing Task Force, chaired by Egbert Perry, Chairman & CEO of Integral Group began examining the issue. In November 2006, the Affordable Workforce Housing Implementation Task Force, co-chaired by Ron Terwilliger, Chairman & CEO of Trammell Crow Residential, and Renee Glover, CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority, recommended the creation of the Affordable Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund. The creation of the Fund is supported by the Mayor’s Faith-based Roundtable, ANDP and other affordable housing community groups.

About Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA):
In 1996, AHA created the financial and legal model for mixed-income, mixed-finance transactions that include public-assisted housing as a component. This model is used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOPE VI revitalization program. In Atlanta, it has resulted in six vibrant mixed-income communities, with three more in the predevelopment phase. Today, AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, serving approximately 50,000 people.

About the Urban Residential Finance Authority (URFA):
The Urban Residential Finance Authority (URFA) is the housing development arm of the Atlanta Development Authority, focusing on creating affordable workforce housing and promoting neighborhood revitalization in the City of Atlanta. URFA has also provided home mortgages in excess of $184 million, allowing 2,400 working class families to purchase homes in the City of Atlanta.

CITY OF ATLANTA
MAYOR'S OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
55 Trinity Avenue, Suite 2500
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Beverly L. Isom, Director of Communications 
404-330-6558 office
404-886-2334 cell
bisom@atlantaga.gov

Catherine H. Woodling, Media Relations Officer
404-330-6763 office
404-886-2963 cell
cwoodling@atlantaga.gov