Decatur Land Trust accepting applications for Park 108 condominiums
Decatur Land Trust members Valerie Wilson, Bill Adams, Kristin Allin, Linda Curry, Angela Threadgill, Alan McNabb and Lesa Mayer met on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at Legacy Park to discuss pending projects and other updates. Photo by Zoe Seiler.
Decatur, GA— The Decatur Land Trust is currently accepting applications to purchase the three affordable condominiums at Park 108.
The development is located at 108 Park Place, which is the former AT&T building in Oakhurst. The property will become 33 condominiums and 10% of the units will be affordable housing.
“The adaptive reuse project at 108 Park Place will convert former telecommunications office and training space into residential condominiums. Toll Bros. is the developer of the project, named Park 108,” Decatur Planning and Economic Development Director Angela Threadgill said. “Project approvals, which occurred prior to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance, include a development agreement with the Decatur Development Authority that requires three condominiums to be set aside as workforce housing.”
The Decatur Land Trust is partnering with Toll Brothers to find qualified buyers and ensure the long-term affordability of the three units. The affordable units are priced for households making no more than 100% of the area median income, Threadgill added. The application and requirements for those who apply are available through the Decatur Land Trust.
During a Decatur Land Trust meeting in September 2021, Threadgill said Toll Bros. had received a building permit.
Thrive was developing the project, but Toll Brothers purchased Thrive. Threadgill previously said. Thrive is still engaged in the project, but Toll Brothers is the developer.
Cottage Court project makes progress
The city of Decatur is also working on affordable housing projects and seeing progress at the Oak Cottage Court project, located at 230 Commerce Drive. The name is based on the former name of Oak Street in the area prior to the existence of Commerce Drive, Threadgill said.
The Decatur Downtown Development Authority, at its May 13 meeting, increased its financial commitment to the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership from $200,000 to $250,000 for the cottage court project site construction.
In February, the DDA signed a development agreement with ANDP for the cottage court project at 230 Commerce Drive. The new name of the project is Oak Cottage Court.
ANDP would build six cottage court homes: 1 one-bedroom house, 1 two-bedroom house, and 4 three-bedroom houses, with square footage ranging from 528 to 1117 square feet. The estimated sales prices would be between $199,000 and $275,000, the board discussed at the Feb. 11 meeting.
“After the recent numbers, those costs have gone up considerably, and so they have come back to us requesting an additional $50,000, so increasing from $200,000 to $250,000,” Threadgill said. “The reason being is, at the end of the day, we want these cottages to be affordable as workforce housing. If we want to continue along that goal, we need to put a little bit more money to help with that gap financing.”
The DDA previously had cost estimates for a retaining wall at the front of the property and the site work that were about $300,000. Those costs have increased to $725,000, Threadgill said.
The project will be aimed at an area median income between 80-120%.
City seeks feedback on zoning proposals
In addition to these projects, city staff are working on two zoning proposals that will come before the Decatur City Commission related to missing middle housing.
One proposal would allow up to four units in the same footprint as a single family home, as long as they comply with the size, lot coverage and setback requirements of a single family home. The second proposal would to allow a portion of parking to be on the street frontage in front of a new or convert multi-unit dwelling.
If a quadplex were built it would be required to have one car per unit, so instead of having all four cars on-site, the proposal would allow two of the cars to be on the street frontage in front of the quadplex.
“That is in line with the strategic plan because there are a lot of people that have come forward in our outreach sessions that are concerned about trees and stormwater, so this was a good compromise we felt to go out to the community with to allow a portion of this parking to be on the street,” Affordable Housing Fellow Kristin Allin previously said. “That would only be if there was enough frontage, curb frontage, and also if parking is allowed on that street in general.”
Decatur is seeking feedback on the proposals, and comments must be submitted to the city by July 31. Here’s how to provide feedback:
– Host a small group discussion with Decatur’s Affordable Housing Fellow. Email [email protected] to arrange a session, learn about the zoning proposals, and ask questions.
– Attend the forum. Issues raised and questions asked will be addressed on Aug. 17 in an online forum.
– Call the Missing Middle Housing Hotline. Provide comments by calling (470) 868-5114.
– Submit questions online and read about proposed Missing Middle zoning changes, and submit questions using the Pre-Forum Interview here. This online questionnaire will be open through July 31. Questions will be addressed at the online forum.
Further details and specifics can be found at decaturga.com/
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