“The agenda for the Mayor and Commission’s Regular Session voting meeting on October 1, 2019 includes a memorandum of understanding between the Athens Housing Authority and the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government.

If approved by the Commission, this memorandum would allow the Unified Government to support the Athens Housing Authority in a public-private partnership to redevelop the Bethel Midtown Village 12-acre site at 105 and 155 Hickman Drive, along with adjacent areas owned by the Unified Government and the Athens Housing Authority, as part of a North Athens Downtown Development Project. The North Athens Downtown Development Project would improve, replace, and increase the housing for low and moderate income households in the target area. It is expected to include a mixture of housing types, land uses, and density as part of a mixed-use/mixed income development.

If voters approve the SPLOST 2020 referendum on November 5, the Unified Government would provide $39 million for this North Athens Downtown Development Project from the $44.5 million in funds budgeted in the Affordable Housing Project that is part of the SPLOST 2020 program.

Bethel Midtown Village and its 190 apartment units is currently in the targeted area. This initiative would replace and increase the number of affordable housing units with state of the art, high quality affordable housing units, improve the quality of management of the units, and improve development opportunities in the area for a variety of uses.

This project would truly transform not only this site and the lives of its residents, but it also has the potential to provide reinvestment into the surrounding area, including downtown Athens.

The Athens Housing Authority is partnering with Columbia Residential and the Jonathan Rose Companies on this project. The team includes strong development partners with extensive experience and a commitment to developing and preserving affordable housing. The partners are committed to ensuring substantial care is taken of the residents of the community and their input is incorporated into the plans for the property.

If the memorandum and SPLOST 2020 are both approved for this project and partnership to move forward, a first priority is resident and citizen involvement in the process and plan of the redevelopment. The Athens Housing Authority has committed to an extensive input process beginning this fall that involves current residents of Bethel Midtown Village, as well as community stakeholders and interested citizens, to have a voice in what this area will become and how it can shape our community for generations.

This partnership presents a great opportunity to expand the number of affordable and workforce homes downtown and create a healthy, sustainable, and well-maintained environment for residents.  

More information about the project will be forthcoming as the project moves forward through the approval process.”