At a July 16 Invest Atlanta board meeting, the city’s economic development agency approved an $18 million tax-exempt revenue bond to pay for construction of improvements and new amenities to the Clark Atlanta University campus.
It will pay for a new dining facility, new North Campus gateway and the demolition of two vacant, outdated dorms. The money doesn’t come from Invest Atlanta; leadership said the agency is a “conduit” for a federal bond transaction.
The revenue bonds will be repaid using specific revenue generated from the project.
“This is really driven by the student demand at Clark Atlanta, so I’m excited to see them continue to grow as an institution and be very influential here in the city of Atlanta,” Invest Atlanta President and CEO Dr. Eloisa Klementich said.
The move comes amid other major Clark Atlanta University campus improvements. In 2023, the Atlanta university announced plans to build three new buildings for an expanding student population: a new dining hall, a freshman residence hall and a student success center.
It marked the first campus expansion in almost 20 years. The $12 million project is set for a fall 2026 completion date.
Invest Atlanta also greenlit several housing projects. Acting as the Urban Residential Finance Authority, the board greenlit a $11.5 million tax-exempt loan to preserve 158 multifamily units at “Columbia Commons,” a development in the Harlan Terrace neighborhood of West Atlanta.
It is a mixture of two- and three-bedroom units, priced up to 60% of the Area Median Income – the 2025 AMI for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell area is $80,000. The entire project costs $36 million, and leaders say it is on the “finish line on closing,” with a finish date in the first quarter of 2028.
Invest Atlanta then approved $27.1 in bonds to finance the new construction of 218 units in Grove Park, called 350 Chappell Road. The project will also include 5,000 square feet of space for nonprofit City of Refuge.
Mayor Andre Dickens said the board is “excited about it; it’s a lot of units.” The one-, two-, and three-bed units will be spread using “income averaging” across 30 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
The property is being developed by TBG Residential, though the lease will be held with the Atlanta Beltline. Agency leaders said the developers have spent four decades “actively engaged in the development of affordable housing.”
Dickens worried the income spread could create a “headache” for property managers, who will have to manage compliance for the affordably designated units at atypical price points like 70% AMI. But developer representative Amelia Johnson said the property management company will handle the complications.
“There’s this great big band of incomes we’re going to reach,” Johnson said.
The project will cost $61.9 million total, and create a range of affordable housing units near the Westside Beltline Trail and AMRTA station. It is set for completion at the end of 2028.
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