Atlanta Land Trust

Growth can help us achieve our collective aspirations in Atlanta. However, if we want to reverse the trends of disparity, we must be intentional about how we grow, and this growth must be inclusive. If we truly seek the beloved community, we will leverage growth to double down on our city’s diversity. Atlanta Land Trust (ALT) is committed to creating and preserving housing in Atlanta that will remain affordable in perpetuity and helping to alleviate displacement of legacy families of color near the Atlanta BeltLine. ALT functions as a social change mechanism working with communities to co-create transformational solutions and supporting community control because we inherently believe that everyone has the right to live in a community of their choice.

The community land trust (CLT) model used by ALT allows low-income homeowners to benefit from the equity built through homeownership, while at the same time preserving the affordability of these homes so that future low-income residents will have the same affordable homeownership opportunities. ALT operates with these positive outcomes in mind, choosing to focus on developing housing within close proximity to public transportation including the Atlanta BeltLine. Over the next five years, ALT will collaborate with communities to create 300 permanently affordable, energy-efficient homes.

Through the use of the CLT model, ALT offers an alternative to rising housing prices requiring increasingly higher, and eventually unsustainable, levels of subsidy over time. Historically, public and private entities have invested in affordable housing in Atlanta with a limited affordability period, typically 5-15 years. This creates a cycle of investing in affordable housing repeatedly, and every year we lose approximately 1,500 units due to the expiration of subsidies and increasing property values. ALT offers a more sustainable approach to building and maintaining affordable housing in geographic areas offering access to economic opportunity.

• Program: Collaborate with communities served to co-create solutions to their affordable housing challenges with 300 permanently affordable, energy-efficient ’homes’ (units) with a focus on homeownership and the inclusion of limited rental, while advocating for favorable long-term affordable housing policy and funding.
• Finances and Funding: Build a sustainable organization with a solid operational model and diversified annual operating budget of approximately $1.1 million comprised of equal parts earned income and philanthropic funding, and adequate funding (at most -$14.8M) for land acquisition and development.
• Human Capacity to Serve: Create internal capacity to scale and address racial disparities and inequities in housing with seven to eight staff, including employees from neighborhoods served; an 18-member engaged governance Board with both strong community representation and voice; access to needed resources.
• Community Engagement and Awareness: Become a community-centered ‘Trusted Partner’ with a proven model and capacity that partners with communities in inclusive outreach and engagement to be recognized as the go-to organization for permanently affordable housing in Atlanta.
• Operations and Facilities: Located headquarters in a targeted community and serving as a resource, with the needed technology and standard processes and procedures to operate efficiently and effectively.

ALT currently has three full-time staff members: Executive Director, Stewardship Manager and Development Manager. ALT typically partners with developers and homebuilders on each of its projects. We have identified prospective development partners for all large-scale projects and have pre-approved a list of six homebuilders to work with us on single-family new construction and renovation projects. ALT also has been successful in cultivating relationships with prospective for-profit and non-profit development partners who are committed to incorporating CLT units into their developments.

ALT’s Stewardship Manager, Karen Babino, is responsible for coordinating the stewardship responsibilities of ALT including community outreach and education, and well as supporting all homebuyers through the homebuying process. She works to ensure that all prospective buyers successfully navigate the homebuying process including educational requirements. More broadly, she works to create awareness and acceptance of the community land trust model.

ALT’s Development Manager, Geoffrey Martin, is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating ALT’s real estate acquisition and development activities, including both single-family and multi-family projects. He serves as a central point for communication and decision making and represents ALT with community groups, stakeholders and public agencies. Geoffrey works directly with homebuilding and development partners to oversee development and construction, ensuring the timely completion of each project.

Since ALT’s relaunch in 2018, its portfolio has grown to 20 homes and its development pipeline to over 200 units.
Over the past two years, ALT has established organizational infrastructure and formalized partnerships with several for-profit developers, non-profit organizations and public entities who are committed to implementing the CLT model in Atlanta. In late 2019 we initiated a strategic planning process to clarify our goals and identify priorities to position the organization for future growth. This strategic plan now serves as an institutional roadmap, supported by research and analysis, to guide ALT and advance the organization’s mission over the next five years.

In 2020 we continued building organizational capacity, including recruiting and on boarding seven new board members, formalizing the onboarding process and hiring additional staff. In early 2020 we hired an intern to support the Stewardship Manager. In October a Development Manager was hired to plan, direct and coordinate ALT’s real estate acquisition and development activities, including both single-family and multi-family projects.

ALT has focused over the past year on advancing predevelopment activities for three large-scale projects: 1091 Tucker Avenue, 697 Fayetteville Road and a confidential project in the Oakland city neighborhood.

ALT has also been successful in cultivating new and existing relationships with prospective for-profit and non-profit development partners who are committed to incorporating CLT units into their developments. ALT currently has a project pipeline of approximately 200 units. New projects are under negotiation with Atlantica Properties and Urban Oasis. ALT closed on five additional homes with the Annie E Casey Foundation. ALT also executed an MOU with the Metro Atlanta Land Bank for a Permanent Affordability Pilot Program which will create a pipeline of public land for permanently affordable housing development. Fourteen properties will be sold to ALT at 25% of market value in the initial phase.