Roswell Street in Marietta has been getting a facelift for a while now, with new sidewalks, lights and trees. Next up is a building to go with it. The Marietta Housing Authority and Prestwick Companies have scheduled a groundbreaking for Evergreen, a 64-unit apartment building for seniors, for Thursday, Oct. 22.
The ceremony is set for 11 a.m. at the site, 879 Roswell St. NE, as Marietta Today reported after the City of Marietta announced it.
According to the city, Evergreen will be a four-story building with 64 affordable senior apartments and retail space on the ground floor facing Roswell Street. It's a public-private partnership between the housing authority and Prestwick, and the Marietta City Council approved the plan. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the state agency that awards affordable housing tax credits, is also listed among the partners.
The lender on the deal filled in more of the picture. In an August announcement, Boston Capital Finance said it closed a loan for the project to Prestwick Development Company. Boston Capital describes Evergreen as housing for seniors 62 and older, with 57 one- and two-bedroom affordable units and seven market-rate units, all in a single four-story wood-frame building. The affordable units are set aside for households earning 30%, 50% and 60% of the area median income.
"Like most areas in the country, the need for attainable and affordable housing in and around Marietta, Georgia is great," said Sean Curry, a partner at Boston Capital Finance. The Boston-based lender says it provides construction-to-permanent financing on properties that have or will get low-income housing tax credits.
The lender also listed the amenities: a leasing office, a community room with a kitchen, a fitness room, a wellness room, a computer center, a mail room, community laundry and a covered porch and picnic area.
What hasn't been made public yet: the cost of the project, the rents, the name of the builder and an opening date. Marietta Today noted the city's announcement left those out, and we couldn't find them anywhere else either.
Part of a bigger plan for the corridor
The city is pitching Evergreen as one piece of a longer effort on Roswell Street. The Envision Marietta Livable Centers Initiative study calls for making the corridor more walkable and better connected to the neighborhoods around it. The city has already put money into new sidewalks, lighting and trees through its Roswell Streetscape Project, and it says it hopes Evergreen will spur more redevelopment along the street. The city also ties the project to its Comprehensive Plan, which includes a goal of working with public and private partners to encourage quality housing at a range of price points.
"This project will help meet an important housing need while building on the improvements we have made along the corridor," Mayor Steve Tumlin said in the city's announcement.
Noel Taylor, executive director of the Marietta Housing Authority, thanked the partners, including the mayor and council, "whose leadership has helped drive affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization across our city."
Brandon Underdahl, chief operating officer of Prestwick Companies, said the company is excited "to break ground and bring much needed senior housing and revitalization along a major corridor in Marietta."
A familiar kind of building
For a lot of folks in the trades around Cobb County, this is a building type you know well: four stories, wood frame, apartments over a commercial ground floor. That's bread-and-butter work for framers, and the ground-floor retail adds storefronts and commercial build-out to the mix. Because it's senior housing, expect accessibility to get close attention in the units and common areas.
It's also a busy street. Marietta Today noted the city hadn't posted any lane closures for the work at the time of its report. Anyone hauling materials in and out should plan on coordinating deliveries around Roswell Street traffic.
Why it matters for Contractors
A four-story wood-frame building with 64 apartments and a retail ground floor means work for nearly every residential trade: site and foundation crews, framers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, drywall and paint crews, flooring installers and finish carpenters, plus storefront and commercial interior work down below. Senior housing with tax-credit backing usually comes with accessibility and compliance requirements, so subs who know that work have a leg up. The builder hasn't been named publicly, so if you want in, start by watching for an announcement from Prestwick and the Marietta Housing Authority. And with the city openly hoping Evergreen sparks more projects along Roswell Street, it may not be the last job on that corridor.