For years, a vacant stretch of land in Atlanta’s Greenbriar neighborhood sat waiting for a new purpose. Today, 448 affordable homes stand in its place.

Atlanta Housing and its development partners, including Zimmerman Properties, Summit Contracting Group, Wilhoit Properties, Invest Atlanta and Bank of America, gathered Sept. 11 to celebrate the opening of The Flats and Villas at Stone Hogan, a $165 million development at 3263 Hogan Road SW. Five years in the making, the project was completed 12 months ahead of schedule and includes housing for families and adults 55 and older.

The 13.5-acre development includes 256 one, two and three-bedroom apartments at The Flats and 192 senior-friendly apartments at The Villas. All 448 units are affordable, with rent based on household income and size. Atlanta Housing invested $5.7 million in the project, or about $12,700 per unit, according to Atlanta Housing President and CEO Terri M. Lee.

Lee said she wants to see the development model replicated elsewhere in Atlanta, pointing to the way Atlanta Housing’s investment helped leverage additional funding.

“We have a generational opportunity to do something in this city, to use housing as the platform, to lift our families to a level of self-sufficiency,” Lee said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens emphasized Stone Hogan as an example of “development without displacement” during his remarks. District 11 Councilmember Wayne Martin made the issue personal, recounting how his own family’s opportunity to live in Atlanta public housing affected the trajectory of his life.

“I am a living example of [the possibilities for young Atlantans], and it started with housing,” Martin said.

Stone Hogan is designed to offer more than apartments. Amenities include a pool, gym, library and business center, playground, picnic pavilion and garden. Partnerships with Star-C, Emory University, Morehouse College and local health care providers will offer residents services and programs including free health screenings, nutrition classes, after-school programs and community gardens. Star-C plans to provide after-school and summer programming for children and families at The Flats and programming centered on connection, health and wellness for seniors at The Villas.

The development also created a meaningful connection between the people building Stone Hogan and those who may eventually call it home.

Through YouthBuild, young people ages 16 to 24 received hands-on construction training at the site, working alongside builders, as Stone Hogan rose from the ground. Program Director Kristina Smith said participants can explore about 19 building trades while earning credentials that can lead directly into registered apprenticeships.

Some YouthBuild participants may also become Stone Hogan residents.

“A lot of participants that are in our program have lacked access to education and access to housing, and they are …low income,” Smith said. “The goal is to provide them pathways” toward a livable wage.

The six-month program includes three months of credential training followed by placement and leadership activities, with help earning a GED or high school diploma when needed. Participants then receive an additional year of support. The grant-funded program is tuition-free.

YouthBuild construction manager Ralph Dickerson said he has watched that opportunity translate into determination. He recalled arriving one morning to find a participant who did not have to be there practicing fractions because he wanted to better understand measurements used on the job.

“He said, ‘I have to get these fractions down. I was terrible in school,’” Dickerson recalled. “So we sat there all morning doing fractions.”

Stone Hogan’s story is not finished. A third phase is planned to bring 50 homeownership units to the site.

For the young people who helped build Stone Hogan, including some who may one day live there, the development offers a particularly tangible version of that progression: learning how to build a home, helping build it and, potentially, getting the chance to call the community home.

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