The organizers of a sweeping redevelopment project in downtown Athens say they’ve come up with ways to plug part of a $13.7 million hole in the project’s cost.
The North Athens Downtown Redevelopment Project is a public-private partnership designed to help address a growing affordable housing problem in Athens-Clarke County by redesigning the Bethel Midtown Village area to provide a mixture of housing types, including a number of affordable housing units.
But, faced with skyrocketing construction costs, Athens Housing Authority officials told Commissioners last month that the project is $13.7 million over budget.
Housing Authority CEO Rick Parker said, "The construction bids that we got were literally 35 percent higher than the anticipated construction pricing previously budgeted in 2021."
Now, Parker and his team have found an array of strategies to cover at least part of the shortfall. The developers are cutting costs by getting banks to extend the mortgage, and by raising projected rents by 12%. The Athens Housing Authority is committing $1.7 million in funding as well. Those moves will put $4.1 million more into the project.
In addition, there is the possibility of $4.4 million in additional money from the state Department of Community Affairs. If that grant comes in, it would reduce the total hole in the project’s budget to $5.2 million.
But, time is ticking away. Organizers say they need the Mayor and Commission to find that outstanding $5.2 million in the next week in order to get the DCA funding. And, if the DCA money doesn’t come through, developers need a commitment of $9.6 million by mid-July, or the project might be significantly delayed.
Commissioners are expected to discuss potential solutions at a work session on Tuesday at 5:30pm
