Habitat for Humanity is developing a new Atlanta community with help from the Carters’ initiative
ATLANTA– Walking through his soon-to-be new home one recent morning, an excited Ozzy Herrera could imagine the future. A brown leather sofa to match the floors. Terracotta colored walls. A bar cart near the kitchen.
Herrera, who works two jobs at the Atlanta airport, never imagined he would own a home at the age of 27.
“It’s special. It’s magical,” he said.
In May, nearly 1,000 Habitat for Humanity volunteers will complete Herrera’s new home and 23 other affordable housing units in Atlanta’s Sylvan Hills neighborhood for the 40th Carter Work project.
The intensive weeklong building sessions, named after former President Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalynn, have built about 5,000 homes in 14 countries since 1984. The project is returning to Atlanta for the first time since 1988, when the Carters helped build 21 homes in another neighborhood.
The construction of Sylvan Hills also reflects a new shift in real estate development for Habitat for Humanity, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year amid a growing affordable housing crisis and a growing political battle over affordability more generally.
“The gap between what a family can afford and what it costs to create that housing is the widest it has ever been in modern history,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of the international organization.
The nonprofit plans to serve as a developer on more of its projects, as many small developers still have not recovered from losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or have ceased operations altogether.
In Sylvan Hills, Habitat for Humanity is building on 8 acres (3 hectares) of land it purchased in 2015. It also worked to get the site, which once housed a saw blade manufacturer, rezoned for residential use. The 24 homes will be a mix of single-family homes and townhomes, forming a new community called Langston Park. This is the first time Atlanta Habitat for Humanity will build multi-family townhomes.
“We believe it is important to make the most of every valuable piece of land we can acquire and develop so that we can serve more families,” said Rosalyn Merrick, president and CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity.
The Langston Park homes will cost about $200,000 each to build. New homeowners will pay a monthly mortgage based on their income, but Habitat does not charge them interest. The aim is to eventually build 40 additional homes on the site.
Phileena Daniel, 27, was also qualified to purchase one of the homes. She and her 7-year-old son have struggled with housing for the past two years, including living in a unit infested with rats and cockroaches. She is grateful for the stability a permanent home will bring to Langston Park.
“You know, sometimes we don’t see ourselves getting far in the lives of young black women in this society,” she said. “It gives us an opportunity to grow.”
Habitat for Humanity’s move toward community development is “a classic example of a nonprofit really trying to meet community needs,” said Vincent Reina, a professor of urban economics and planning at the University of Pennsylvania.
“They can stay true to their core mission, which is to promote homeownership opportunities, but they also recognize that we need a diverse set of housing solutions to truly meet the needs of individuals,” said Reina, who is also founder and educational director of the Housing Initiative at Penn.
High housing prices and 30-year mortgage interest rates above 7 percent have made it impossible for even moderate-income households to afford a home in nearly a few of the nation’s 98 most expensive metropolitan areas, according to a study published last year by Reina and Benjamin J. Keys, a professor of real estate and finance at Wharton.
This change has made affordable housing a major issue across the country.
In Congress, the House and Senate have passed various affordable housing bills. Lawmakers are working to reconcile differences to send a final bill to President Donald Trump for approval.
Trump signed executive orders aimed at reducing regulatory burdens on housing and helping small banks make mortgage loans. His 2027 budget proposal, however, calls for cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the elimination of many community development programs that currently help cities build affordable housing.
Back in Atlanta, Herrera couldn’t stop thinking about all the possibilities homeownership could provide. His mother had breast cancer and she and her father could come and live with him if the need arose. A low, stable monthly housing payment would also help him pursue his goal of owning a coffee shop. Herrera said rising rents in the Atlanta area forced him to move before, taking away time and money for this project.
“Now I can finally take risks,” he said.
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Gamboa reported from Cleveland. Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support from the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
