The Atlanta Beltline is a 22-mile multi-use trail and transit corridor in the heart of Georgia’s state capital, where city dwellers can enjoy natural trails and public spaces throughout the stretch of land.
But now, the area is working to solve one of the city’s largest issues: A lack of affordable housing.
According to 11 Alive News, the Atlanta Metro Area has lost over 200,000 affordable housing units between 2018 and 2023, leaving the city thousands of units short for low-income renters in need of a place to live.
City officials say the Beltline is part of a larger effort to build more than 5,000 affordable homes by 2030. The group is already 69% of the way to that goal, and a new development is adding to the momentum.
Recently, the city opened its first adaptive reuse development along the Beltline: The Ralph David House.
Once a motel in the Reynoldstown neighborhood — built in the 1960s — the space was transformed into 56 modern studio apartments for individuals or families who were previously unhoused.
“Once an aging 1960s era [motel] is now a driving community for our city’s most vulnerable residents that need it the most,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said at the grand opening…