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Atlanta Regional Commission drafts 2035 home plan
Metro Atlanta needs more than 360,000 new homes over the next decade to resolve its growing regional housing crisis.
ATLANTA - A growing population and rising housing costs are driving a push for new development solutions across metro Atlanta as regional leaders unveil a blueprint to build hundreds of thousands of homes.
Atlanta regional housing crisis
What we know:
The Atlanta Regional Commission finished its final draft of the Housing Forward 2035 plan, aimed at fixing the widespread housing shortage driving up local costs. Regional estimates show metro Atlanta will need well over 300,000 homes by 2035 to keep pace with demand.
The crisis affects residents across all 11 counties in the metropolitan region. The ARC reports half of all renters in the metro area are cost-burdened, while a quarter of homeowners face similar financial strain.
Developments like the ongoing transformation in Southeast Atlanta's CMG neighborhood offer a model for the proposal. At the corner of Moreland Avenue and Custer Avenue, crews tore down Moreland Plaza—an abandoned shopping center built in the 1960s—to construct new townhomes selling in the mid-$300,000s alongside new apartments.
Atlanta Regional Commission strategy
What they're saying:
Samyukth Shenbaga, Managing Director of Community Development for the Atlanta Regional Commission, stressed that affordable housing has become a broad regional issue that demands immediate action.
"Half of the renters in the metro are cost burdened. A quarter of the homeowners in the metro are cost burdened. It's an issue which spans all the 11 counties in our metro now," Shenbaga said. "I think folks are no longer patient. I think sense of urgency is real. And if we don't start moving on this very quickly, the problem is only going to worsen".
Shenbaga explained that solving the shortage will require building near employment centers and public transit, specifically targeting families bringing home $55,000 a year or less. He noted that cutting red tape alone will not solve the issue.
"It's going to require subsidies. It's going to require money coming from foundations, the nonprofit community, and also from the municipal government," Shenbaga said.
Redevelopment and urban options
The backstory:
The proposed plan highlights non-traditional housing approaches, including duplexes, converted old structures like retired schools, and redeveloped commercial space at underutilized shopping malls.
Atlanta native Tess Dumas recalled how run-down the Moreland Plaza site used to be before developers stepped in. "Very abandoned. Just very rough. They were doing nothing with it," Dumas said, adding that she is impressed with the new townhomes going up in her neighborhood.
Regional adoption roadmap
What's next:
The Housing Forward 2035 plan serves as a roadmap for local communities rather than a mandatory mandate, allowing regional cities to adapt strategies based on land costs.
The Atlanta Regional Commission expects to hold a final vote on the proposal in January.
Unresolved municipal zoning rules
What we don't know:
Local city and county governments have not yet announced which specific zoning regulations or municipal codes they will change to streamline building projects.
It remains unclear how much funding private foundations, non-profit organizations, and local governments will allocate to subsidize affordable construction.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Atlanta Regional Commission's Housing Forward 2035 draft report, statements from Managing Director of Community Development Samyukth Shenbaga, and onsite reporting from Atlanta's CMG neighborhood.