Livable Buckhead announced Aug. 13 that it has selected a consultant to conduct an affordable housing study and finalized the list of members that will serve on a steering committee to help implement solutions.
The idea for the affordable housing study came out of findings released in the “Buckhead REdeFINED” master plan, which was completed in 2017. The master plan reported that most traffic congestion results from Buckhead employees not being able to afford housing in the area.
HR&A Advisors, Inc. has been selected to provide planning services for the project. The firm has led numerous housing and economic development studies including an equitable housing analysis for the city of Atlanta, a press release said.
Some of the 30 steering committee members include Tim Keane, the city’s planning commissioner; Sarah Kirsch, executive director of the Urban Land Institute’s Atlanta branch; Trish O’Connell of the Atlanta Housing Authority; Nancy Bliwise, chair of NPU-B; and Rachel Sprecher, the Atlanta Public Schools director of partnerships and development. Others include representatives from the Georgia Restaurant Association, residential companies, and Councilmembers J.P. Matzigkeit and Howard Shook, according to the release.
The study is funded by a Livable Centers Initiative grant through the Atlanta Regional Commission with local matching funds provided by the BCID. Work on the study will begin in August and is anticipated to take approximately six months to complete, the release said.