City of Albany makes workforce housing a priority

ALBANY – It’s no secret that people have been abandoning the city of Albany and Dougherty County for surrounding locales and beyond. Whether due to the loss of jobs from closing industries or the desire to pick up stakes for other pastures, that population loss has been felt.

Now the city of Albany has introduced a plan to put more people in houses, either in existing structures or, ideally, in new homes.

The Build Albany Housing Initiative was formally introduced to Albany city commissioners this week.

“We actually have several subdivision areas that the city owns property, and we’re trying to create workforce housing in those areas for citizens, for our employees,” City Manager Terrell Jacobs said during a telephone interview on Wednesday. 

The city is not advocating for any particular development but is looking to provide information and connections to new single- and multi-family developments, as well as showcasing participating employer incentives and financial assistance that may be available.

“We’re going to help folks get in a position to be housing-ready with their lenders,” Jacobs said. “We’re trying to put this informational piece together so they will have a site to get this information.

That information will include lenders, developers and the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, which offers counseling to assist individuals in obtaining affordable housing.

“That’s the concept that we’re looking at doing,” Jacobs said. “We’re hoping we can continue this effort.”

Among the entities clamoring for more housing in the community are the Dougherty County School System and Albany State University, which faces a shortage of student housing, the city manager told commissioners during the Wednesday meeting. 

“We need housing for teachers,” he said. “We need to create a pipeline for folks to get their situation together so they can buy a house.”

Commissioner Chad Warbington suggested that Albany Utilities participate by contributing to a marketing effort.

“Anybody who comes (to live) is going to be a customer,” he said. “This is going to take marketing. Marketing costs money.”