Monday, October 7, 2024–10:05 a.m.
-John Bailey, Rome News-Tribune-
This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com
The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority will utilize a Department of Community Affairs tax credit program to demolish aging public housing facilities and rebuild updated housing in Cave Spring.
The DCA recently announced they accepted the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority’s application for a 9% Housing Tax Credit to redevelop a low-income housing development located on Fincher Street.
The DCA housing tax credits are meant to incentivize development in areas across the state in order to create housing and attract new businesses and industries.
The 52 public housing and Section 8 units in that development will be demolished and 58 new units consisting of townhomes and duplexes will be built. The total development cost is $17,696,778.
That cost also includes a playground and a 5000-square-foot community building. The community building will include computers and internet access for residents, alongside a printer, as well as a covered patio for exterior gatherings.
“I will tell you Cave Spring has never, ever gotten this much money for a project,” Betty Sue Hickman, the authority board member who represents Cave Spring, said.
The authority is ready to move on the project.
“We have everything ready to pull the trigger and go, we just have to line up the contracts,” Hannah Phillips the authority’s director of tax credits and development told members of the authority board this week.
The current residents at the Cave Spring properties may be temporarily relocated during the construction process, Authority Executive Director Justin Jones said, but will not be displaced. Many of the units are already empty.
The property was originally developed by the Cave Spring Housing Authority in the 1970s and 1980s. The Cave Spring authority was absorbed by the NWGA Housing Authority in 2023.
Another DCA tax credit was awarded to the Tower Village Apartments, located off Lane Street near the Goodyear Village in Rockmart. The apartment complex was awarded $715,000 as part of the DCA’s 2024 9% housing tax credits.
The award will help fund 21 new construction properties and six rehabilitation projects. Seventeen of the properties will provide workforce housing for families and 10 will be built exclusively for senior tenants.