Habersham County is in desperate need of affordable housing, and renters searching for a place to call home can look forward to the completion of a three-building, 72-unit affordable apartment complex on Highway 115 in Clarkesville.
In 2015, discussions surrounding bringing a 72-apartment complex to Clarkesville began, but never materialized due to lack of funding. In 2019, a new proposal at the same location for a 72-unit complex came to the city, but this time with the means to build it.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs awarded tax credit to Piedmont Housing Group, a developer based out of Roswell, Georgia from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project. The GDC project’s goal is to bring affordable housing to neighborhoods across the state.
The developer says that by early 2022, Clarkesville’s “Sutton Terrace Apartments” will be ready for rent.
According to a study completed for the DCA on the Clarkesville apartment complex, the 3-building complex will be income-restricted for those in need of affordable housing. The apartments will include units with rent based on Habersham’s Area Median Income (AMI); 15 of the 72 units’ rent will be based on 50 percent AMI, and the other units’ rent will be based on the 60 percent AMI.
The LIHTC project requires that the development be available to low-income seniors and families; income restriction is set differently for different apartment sizes. For example, a family making more than $28,020 a year would not be able to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the developing complex.
The apartment complex will be made up of three three-story apartment buildings with one, two and three-bedroom apartments, clubhouse, fitness center, playground and community garden.
