Atlanta City Council Asks Invest Atlanta to Issue $75 Million in Revenue Bonds for Rapid Housing Units, Permanent Supportive Housing

District 1 Council member Jason Winston introduced 24-O-1486 during the Sept. 3 full council meeting.

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council approved an ordinance requesting that Invest Atlanta issue $75 million in revenue bonds to finance 500 units of quick-delivery rapid housing, 200 additional units of permanent supportive housing, and other related projects in the city (24-O-1486). This item was sent to the Mayor’s Office post haste.

Other items that the Council adopted include:

• A resolution to invest $10 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for the next six years to support the City’s Rapid Housing Initiative to help provide 500 units of quick-delivery to assist unhoused residents experiencing homelessness by the end of 2025 (24-R-3988). This item was sent to the Mayor’s Office post haste.
• An ordinance directing the transfer of $50 million for a small-diameter rehabilitation project, including structural upgrades necessary to replace aging and deteriorated sewers, ensuring extended service life, reliability, and improved flow. The initiative will help eliminate sanitary sewer overflows and safeguard the City’s investment in upgraded water reclamation facilities (24-O-1468). This item was sent to the Mayor’s Office post haste.
• An ordinance transferring $2 million to the Summer Youth Employment Trust Fund Account to help the program build career interests and marketable, work-related skills through hands-on experience (24-O-1472).
• A resolution authorizing the Atlanta Department of Transportation to seek a $2 million U.S. Department of Transportation Railroad Crossing Elimination grant for a feasibility study and alternatives analysis of identified at-grade rail crossings (24-R-3984).
• An ordinance granting a $700,000 donation to the nonprofit Gateway Center to support individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in the city. The Gateway Center served 8,682 community members in 2023, including 1,198 residential guests, and successfully provide housing solutions to 1,531 guests (24-R-3985).
• An ordinance authorizing Invest Atlanta to create and capitalize a new “Neighborhood Impact Recovery Fund” to help small businesses address major economic disruptions or dramatic reduction in business due to a city, state, or national disaster or major infrastructure redesign and development and transferring $500,000 from the Atlanta Rapid Response Loan Fund (24-O-1473).
• An ordinance urging the Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services to explore programming designed to connect senior citizens with existing part-time employment and volunteer opportunities within the city (24-R-3989).
• An ordinance authorizing the appointment of individuals or contractors whose functions require enforcement of the city code, including those designated by the City’s on-street parking management services contractor, as code enforcement agents who shall have the power to serve citations for violating any City ordinance (24-O-1445).
• An ordinance rededicating the namesake of the Atkins Park neighborhood from Confederate Colonel John Dewitt Clinton Atkins to Dr. Eliza Atkins Gleason in honor of her legacy in the field of library science and her significant impact on the city of Atlanta (24-O-1482).

Items introduced for consideration include:

• A resolution authorizing an application in partnership with the PATH Foundation and Georgia Institute of Technology for two Fiscal Year 2025 U.S. Department of Transportation Discretionary Grants totaling $21 million for the design and construction of the Reunify Westside Project. This item was approved for immediate consideration and adopted unanimously.
• A resolution calling for the amendment of the More MARTA Intergovernmental Agreement to allow four City Council appointees to be part of the More MARTA program governance committee. The amendment also would require the City Council, Office of the Mayor, and the MARTA General Manager to approve project budgets, schedules, and funding sources.
• An ordinance authorizing acceptance of $10.8 million in FEMA Shelter and Services Program grant funding. The program provides funding to non-federal agencies that serve non-citizen migrants to provide shelter, food, transportation, and other services and to increase its sheltering capacity for non-citizen migrants.
• An ordinance creating the Gulch Housing Trust Fund according to the Tax Authority District (TAD) development agreement for the Atlanta Gulch Project and authorizing the transfer of almost $8.5 million to the fund.
• An ordinance providing $1.4 million to the Metro Atlanta Land Bank to prepare foreclosed properties for redevelopment, with a focus on creating and preserving affordable housing.
• An ordinance authorizing a $650,000 agreement with Live Nation Entertainment for event production services required for the 2024–25 Peach Drop Festival.
• An ordinance ratifying the City’s Department of Labor and Employment Services’ application for a $486,000 award from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Pathways to Career Empowerment Grant program to serve 75 justice-involved individuals with career, training, and employment services.
• A resolution calling for a $250,000 donation to the Grove Park Foundation to support community leadership in the Grove Park and historic Westin Heights (Bankhead) neighborhood revitalization efforts.
• A resolution declaring the City’s intention to provide financial assistance for redeveloping the 2 Peachtree property into a transformative, transit-oriented, mixed-use development.

The City Council presented proclamations and recognitions to honor Booker T. Washington High School’s 100th anniversary, Rev. Walter Mobley, Minority Business Opportunity Week, and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.