HUD Secretary Fudge meets with Atlanta Mayor Bottoms to promote affordable housing

Monday morning, U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge visited Atlanta arsenic she toured Herndon Square arsenic the City of Atlanta continues to beforehand their affordable lodging initiatives. Herndon Square boasts 586 wealth rental unites, of which 52% are affordable, 97 elder rental units, and 32 municipality homes for sale, of which 21% are affordable.

The Herndon Square program is developed by a concern with Hunt Companies/Oakwood Development Corporation, with further partnerships by HUD, City of Atlanta, Westside Future Fund, Invest Atlanta, Department of Community Affairs and Georgia Tech.

In January 2020, operation began connected Herndon Square, which hired workers done Westside Works and the workers received OSHA grooming and further skills development.

“Herndon Square is simply a rebuild of the historical Herndon Homes slated to supply implicit 600 caller units to seniors and families, and is the cleanable illustration of gathering backmost better,” said Eugene E. Jones, CEO of Atlanta Housing.

Fudge was successful Atlanta promoting President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure plan, which emphasizes investments successful lodging operation and rehabilitation, economical development, and assemblage revitalization. President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan is successful 2 the signifier of 2 bills, 1 a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure that would rebuild and repair accepted infrastructure successful the U.S., and a wide $3.5 trillion measurement that could walk with lone the enactment of Democrats, via fund reconciliation.

“You cognize 1 of the reasons that Black location ownership is the aforesaid arsenic it was for a percent arsenic compared to achromatic location ownership arsenic it was successful 1968, is due to the fact that we don’t person down outgo assistance,” Fudge said. “We tin alteration that. In this HUD, we’re fixed down outgo assistance truthful that you tin commencement with equity successful your house. In this HUD, we are neutralizing pupil indebtedness debt. Who has pupil indebtedness debt? Black, Brown and mediocre people.  We’re changing that, truthful that your indebtedness your pupil indebtedness indebtedness volition not number truthful heavy against you and you’re going to get credit.

We’re starting to springiness tiny dollar loans. You cognize what it is similar if you person neighborhoods that person been red-lined for truthful long, you tin spell and bargain a location for 10 oregon $20,000 but the banks won’t indebtedness you the wealth to hole it. We’re changing that and we’re going to rebuild our neighborhoods and our communities.”

Fudge was joined by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Senator Jon Ossoff, Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock, U.S. Representative Nikema Williams, Dean of the Georgia Legislature and newly-minted ambassador of the Dominican Republic, State Rep. Calvin Smyre and Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis.

“Housing is dignity. Housing is perfectly necessary, captious infrastructure,” Senator Warnock explained. “And truthful I’m arrogant to basal speech leaders from our authorities who person been successful the combat to guarantee a pathway to safe, unchangeable and affordable lodging for each Georgians, the pathway to lodging should beryllium just and equitable for everyone, and entree to affordable lodging is the infrastructure, radical successful our communities request to elevate families into the moving people and the mediate class. It is the instauration that helps radical enactment their families and lend to their economies.”

The Mayor’s bureau has made an ambitious pledge to enactment $1 cardinal toward affordable lodging and to date, the City controls astir $500 cardinal successful backstage and nationalist backing – which is half-way to that billion-dollar goal. The City besides is connected way to conscionable its 8-year extremity of providing 20,000 affordable lodging units by 2026, according to a release.

“To execute our goal, we indispensable guarantee that lodging is developed astatine each terms points successful the metropolis and Atlanta Housing’s Herndon Square is an illustration of our commitment,” said Mayor Bottoms. “It is an grant to big Secretary Fudge and members of Congress to sermon the value of lodging rehabilitation and assemblage revitalization arsenic we physique backmost better, together.”

“The enactment that we’re doing successful Congress close present to beforehand meaningful investments successful affordable lodging volition person a existent impact, a affirmative interaction connected the regular lives of truthful galore Georgians,” said Senator Ossoff. “Far excessively galore Georgians laic awake astatine nighttime worrying whether they’ll beryllium capable to marque the rent due to the fact that of lodging shortages, and the acold excessively galore of our chap Georgians who deficiency unafraid entree to lodging and find themselves connected housed, oregon unstably housed.”