MIDTOWN VILLAGES
Midtown Villages in Gainesville, GA won a 2022 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the HUD Preservation category.
Midtown Villages, co-developed by Collaborative Housing Solutions and Gainesville Housing Authority, provides 200 affordable homes serving primarily low-income families with children in Gainesville, Georgia. The 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) was used to finance the property, with financing facilitated by Red Stone Equity Partners and Sugar Creek Capital.
Midtown Villages is located in a designated Opportunity Zone, an economically-distressed community in need of significant investment and revitalization. Midtown Villages was renovated from former public housing units located across a collection of 6 properties as a complement to Hall County’s and Gainesville’s “Vision 2030” community project, a county-wide initiative to implement a common vision for improving the quality of life of area resident. The renovation of Midtown Villages resulted in substantial physical rehabilitation and improvements such as adding central air conditioning and new landscaping features, implementing green-building standards, and the display of public art pieces as a symbol of the Gainesville community. Other property features include a community building, playground, and an outdoor area with a pavilion, picnic tables, and a communal porch.
Midtown Villages’ resident services coordinator provides direct case management to residents and nurtures partnerships with 35 local community service agencies that increase educational outcomes for its youth, foster economic self-sufficiency for parents living onsite, and improve life for the property’s senior residents to age in place. On-site services include tutoring, counseling, summer programs, mentoring, mothers’ and children’s reading programs, parenting programs, life skills training, senior programs, and health services.
Midtown Villages was the first in Georgia to combine use of the Housing Credit with the National Housing Trust Fund program, and was also developed using the HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which provides public housing authorities the ability to secure long-term project-based rental assistance.
Made possible through innovative use of financing programs and creative collaboration among state, city, and local stakeholders, the development of Midtown Villages represents a critical part of the revitalization of the Gainesville area . Providing low-income residents of Gainesville with safe, quality, and affordable housing is a key step in reinvesting in the community.
Congressional Recognition
Remarks from U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA)
Senator Warnock shared in a congratulatory video, “I am so deeply honored to present the Edson Award to the representatives of Midtown Villages in Gainesville, Georgia, for their work to bring affordable housing solutions to their community. Today, it is harder than ever for Georgia families to cover their housing costs, which have risen 12 percent since last year. That is why the work you are doing is so very important.”
Hear more from Senator Warnock in his congratulatory video:
