The Invest Atlanta Board of Directors has approved a Westside TAD grant of up to $500,000 to finance the renovation of sixteen school-adjacent multifamily apartment units in English Avenue. The developer, oaksAtl Community Development, Inc. (oaksATL), is a non-profit development associated with Peace Preparatory Academy, Inc. Together, the two entities aim to support low-income families holistically through access to quality education, safe and affordable housing, and proximity to parks and employment, in an effort to address the relationship between housing stability and community wellbeing.
Currently, the school has 60 students spanning pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and plans to continue to expand through 12th grade. Families, who come from English Avenue, Vine City, and adjacent neighborhoods, pay tuition on a sliding scale through the assistance of individual, foundation, and corporate donors.
Once renovated from its vacant, blighted state, 584 Lindsay Street will provide fifteen two-bedroom apartment units. The renovations will include new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, exterior doors and windows, and interior finishes. The building will also include exterior façade and site improvements.
In January, the Invest Atlanta Board of Directors supported plans for oaksATL to renovate another sixteen multi-family apartment units in English Avenue .
Under the terms of the Westside TAD Community Improvement Fund, the developer will offer the rental units at a deep level of affordability. Eight of the units will be offered at or below 50 percent Area Median Income (AMI) while the remaining seven units will be offered at or below 80 percent AMI.