The Atlanta Land Trust (ALT) and Cityscape Housing celebrated the start of construction on The Trust at Oakland City, a new mixed-income housing development in the city’s historic Oakland City community.
The announcement comes as ALT is leading the way towards a more sustainable approach to affordable housing in Atlanta by expanding homeownership throughout the city, including along the Atlanta BeltLine and in neighborhoods such as East Lake, Grove Park, and Pittsburgh.
The Kendeda Fund provided funding for the acquisition of the 3.5-acre site on which the project is being constructed, in addition to BeltLine Tax Allocation District funding through Invest Atlanta and Atlanta BeltLine Inc.
“This project presents an urgent opportunity to mitigate gentrification resulting from public investments in the area with a comprehensive, equity-driven approach that connects people, place, and quality of life,” Amanda Rhein, executive director for the Atlanta Land Trust, said in a press release. “We are working to ensure Atlanta remains a city for all by providing permanently affordable housing that will benefit generations of Atlantans.”
ALT is partnering with Cityscape Housing to develop and construct The Trust at Oakland City. Once complete, the project will include 42 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units ranging from 600 square feet to 1,500 square feet, with sales prices starting at $137,880. ALT aims to make half of the units affordable to families making at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI) and at or below 80% of AMI. The balance of units will be sold at market rates.
“Like communities across our region and country, Atlanta has faced a housing affordability crisis that demands a massive, all-hands-on-deck response, and together, we’ve made great progress in our city. Partners like Atlanta Land Trust, Cityscape Housing, and the Atlanta Beltline, Inc., make sure we’re well on track to meet and hopefully exceed our ambitious affordable housing goals,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in the press release. “Knowing that this will be the site of 42 townhomes, 21 of which will be permanently affordable, proves that we’re moving towards permanent affordable housing in our city. When we say that Atlanta is A City of Opportunity for All and A City Built for the Future, this is what we’re talking about.”
Slated for completion in early 2026, The Trust at Oakland City is one of three multi-unit projects ALT is undertaking through the community land trust model, which provides for permanent affordability through a dual-ownership arrangement, in which low-income families purchase and own only the house while leasing the underlying land from ALT. If and when the owner chooses to sell their home, resale restrictions ensure it will remain affordable for the next family, even as the seller benefits from the equity they created while in the home. The renewable, inheritable, ground lease means each home can provide affordable housing to approximately 16 families over the initial 99-year term, assuming an average tenure of six years.
Additional project funding was secured through ALT’s broader efforts to raise $14 million to support the development of 120 units across three sites in Atlanta. Other key contributors to ALT’s capital campaign include the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, William Joseph Foundation, Tull Charitable Foundation, James M. Cox Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, The Fraser-Parker Foundation, LuluMa Foundation, Georgia Power Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, Development Authority of Fulton County, State of Georgia, and pro bono support from McGuireWoods LLP and Alston & Bird LLP. Donations in support of this effort can be made on ALT’s website at atllandtrust.org/get-involved/donate.