City of Atlanta opens housing help office, announces new affordable housing high-rise

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) -The City of Atlanta has opened a new housing help center at Two Peachtree Street and Mayor Andre Dickens announced the old office space will also be converted into affordable housing units.

Two Peachtree Street was built as an office high-rise in the 1970s. It’s 41 stories. The housing help office is downstairs. Thirty-five floors will be used for 600 to 700 affordable housing units.

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It’s all part of Dickens’ plan to create 20,000 affordable housing units within eight years. Over 3,000 units are already completed through various projects in the city, with 1,500 more units in progress.

“We will move forward relentlessly in the pursuit of our goals. We will continue to roll out partnerships to leverage the full breadth of resources available. We will aggressively deploy mixed-income housing throughout this city,” Dickens said.

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City leaders said these improvements will help the city for generations.

“A child does not have to worry where they’re going to sleep at night. They’ll be able to focus on their schoolwork. If they’re able to focus on their schoolwork, we’re building them for that next generation. And that’s what we’re doing in Atlanta Housing,” said Terri Lee, chief operating officer of Atlanta Housing.

To get all of the building done on these housing projects, Dickens announced there will be a special week at city hall in January where builders and developers can get express permitting and licensing.