Up in Rome, a stretch of land near AdventHealth Stadium is on track to become 52 new affordable apartments. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has awarded competitive 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to Augustus Crossing, a project from Woda Cooper Companies and the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority.
The housing authority shared the news in a September announcement. Those 9% credits are some of the most sought-after money in affordable housing, and winning them is often what turns a plan on paper into a building.
Augustus Crossing is planned for 0 Riverpoint Place. The housing authority describes a four-story building with elevator access and 52 apartments:
- 28 one-bedroom units of about 740 square feet.
- 24 two-bedroom units of about 970 square feet.
The apartments will serve households earning between 50% and 70% of the area median income.
The outside of the building will be mostly brick, with a mix of horizontal and vertical fiber cement siding and covered entryways at every door. Residents will get a covered picnic pavilion and a playground, and sidewalks will connect the property to an existing trail just south of the site. The housing authority says that trail will give residents a route to the Redmond Road and Harbin Clinic area.
Location-wise, the site is less than half a mile from AdventHealth Stadium, with a bus stop nearby. Within about two miles are Belk, AdventHealth Redmond, CVS, Rome High School, the Rome Senior Center, Riverside Park and the Rome-Floyd Public Library.
A housing authority stepping up
What's a little different here is the role the housing authority is playing. Instead of only managing the housing it already owns, the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority partnered with a private developer to get something new built.
"Augustus Crossing is an excellent example of what can happen when a public housing authority takes an active role in creating new affordable housing opportunities and brings the right partners and resources together," said Justin Jones, the authority's CEO. "The LIHTC award is a significant milestone, and we look forward to seeing this project move toward construction."
Local radio station WRGA reported that earlier this year, the housing authority voted to support the tax credit application Woda Cooper submitted for the project.
Jones said the authority wants to be "more than a provider of existing affordable housing" and an active participant in creating new homes.
Tommy Lowmon, senior vice president of development at Woda Cooper, thanked the housing authority and the City of Rome. "This opportunity would not have been possible without the partnership with NWGHA, and we are thrilled to bring additional affordable housing opportunities to Rome," Lowmon said.
It's worth being clear: this is a tax credit award, not a groundbreaking. The housing authority describes the award as an important milestone in moving the project toward construction. The announcement didn't give a construction start date or a total cost, and it didn't name a general contractor. We couldn't confirm those details elsewhere either, so they're the questions to keep asking.
A good-sized local job
For contractors around Floyd County, 52 apartments in a four-story building is a solid, manageable job, the kind a regional crew can sink its teeth into. A brick-heavy exterior means real work for masons, and the fiber cement siding and covered entries add work for siding crews and carpenters. An elevator building also brings in elevator installers and the structural and fire protection work that comes with going four stories up.
Add in sidewalks, the trail connection, a pavilion and a playground, and there's site and concrete work outside the building too.
Why it matters for Contractors
Tax credit awards usually come well ahead of the first shovel, which gives local contractors time to get on the radar before bids go out. Augustus Crossing will need site work, concrete, masonry, framing, siding, roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, elevator work, drywall, flooring and finish trades, plus the outdoor pavilion and playground. Masons in particular should take note, since the housing authority says the exterior will be predominantly brick. Keep an eye on Woda Cooper and the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority for word on a builder and a start date. And if the authority keeps partnering on new projects like it says it wants to, this may not be the last one in the region.