Affordable housing win with groundbreaking on permanent supportive housing for the homeless

December 5 was an historic day for affordable housing around the Beltline as leaders gathered to break ground on permanent supportive housing for the homeless. Known as the Ralph David House, the adaptive-reuse development will convert the old eyesore motel at 277 Moreland Avenue into 54 apartments in the Reynoldstown community. This is the first time that Atlanta Beltline has invested in a project with all permanently supportive housing.

Ralph David House groundbreaking on December 5, 2023. Photo by Joshua Spruiel.

Led by Stryant Investments,, the apartments will be reserved for those earning 30 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) or less and who were previously unhoused. Rents and utility costs combined will be capped at 30 percent of each tenant’s income. Plans include having a social worker office onsite, ADA-compliant units and a design that meets Fair Housing Guidelines.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, President and CEO of Atlanta Beltline, Inc. Clyde Higgs and other city and housing leaders gathered at the site near I-20 to mark the occasion.

“The Ralph David House project marks a significant milestone in fully affordable housing options in Atlanta and forwards Atlanta Beltline’s mission to meet affordable housing goals along and around our 22-mile corridor,” said Higgs. “As our city grows and evolves, developments like this one are ensuring that all Atlantans have access to projects like this one that deliver shared prosperity and an opportunity to access jobs and amenities.”

In addition to Atlanta Beltline’s $500,000 investment from the TAD Increment Fund, managed by Invest Atlanta, the project has received funding from the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund, City of Atlanta HOME funds, as well as support from Partners for HOME’s HomeFirst program, which provided funding as well as Housing Choice Vouchers from Atlanta Housing and supportive services for all individuals housed in the units.

“Finding new ways to serve to Atlanta’s homeless population is another way Invest Atlanta and our partners are supporting Mayor Dickens’ goal to build or preserve 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “We continue to think creatively with projects like Ralph David House and 184 Forsyth Street, a soon-to-be-completed homeless housing village out of shipping containers, to ensure more homeless residents receive the housing and support they deserve faster.”

Partners for Home, the primary funder, currently has 660+ permanently supportive housing units in their pipeline with about 50 located on the Beltline. Atlanta Beltline has a goal to create and or preserve 5,600 units of affordable housing within the Beltline TAD and, to date, is nearly 60 percent of the way toward this goal, having assisted in the creation or preservation of more than 3,300 affordable places to live.

Apartments in Ralph David House are expected to open to residents in fall of 2024.