Coming 29-unit housing project in Albany kicks off with Thursday groundbreaking

ALBANY – The shovels full of dirt tossed Thursday by state and local officials were small, but the impact in Albany could be huge, starting with the Gillionville Road subdivision that will provide affordable homes for 29 families.

Before the groundbreaking ceremony attended by state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Christopher Nunn even took place, plans were in the works for another 50-unit development in east Albany.

The project is being primarily financed by a $923,513 grant from the state, part of Gov. Brian Kemp’s Rural Workforce Housing Initiative. The funds will allow the city of Albany to improve sewage infrastructure in the area and could bring more housing to the area in the future.

The city is providing a 10% match for the infrastructure improvements, and housing developer Coleson LLC is pitching in 15% of the money needed for the improvements.

While some surrounding counties have seen housing booms over the past few decades, Albany has fallen behind, said City Commissioner Chad Warbington, in whose Ward IV the subdivision will be located near the intersection of Gillionville Road and Lockett Station Road.

“For the last 20 years, Albany has built few, if any, homes toward homeownership,” he said. “This is the first subdivision I remember in Albany in at least 20 years. These houses are what’s going to attract people to move to Albany, to stay in Albany.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with multifamily housing, but it’s time we built some single-family homes in Albany.”

The houses are planned for the $250,000-$275,000 price range and are targeted for first-time homebuyers and residents employed at area industries.

The state has invested about $35 million so far through the program, and that is expected to foster construction of 1,000 new homes in about 20 communities throughout the state, Nunn said during an interview following the groundbreaking ceremony.

“We also have the capacity to build more,” he said. “This is exciting. With this tool, we have the ability to stimulate the housing community, to develop more work force housing.”

Prior to the ceremony, the DCA commissioner recognized the work of local officials and lawmakers, including Republican state Reps. Gerald Greene and Bill Yearta, who represent portions of Dougherty County, and Democratic state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, who had a prior commitment and could not attend Thursday’s groundbreaking.

“I enjoy coming back and seeing ground broken and seeing the good work in the community,” Nunn said. “We gather today to commemorate a very important accomplishment. Work force housing is essential infrastructure. We do not have as much as we need.

“As Gov. Kemp and I travel all over the state, we hear this in every community, the need for work force housing. We hear this around the nation. In Georgia, we’re doing something about it. We need to do more to build work force housing, that is housing people can afford to live in.”

Greene, who lives in Cuthbert, said that he, Sims and Yearta are committed to working to make more such projects a reality in the area.

“Lots of things are happening,” he said. “This was our commitment to you that we are doing to make in Albany and Dougherty County and the region … because we are going to build better homes for people to live here.”

The city was required to start the Gillionville Road project before applying for another grant, but already it has its sights set on the 50-unit development in east Albany, Warbington said during an interview after the ceremony. City officials also are looking at building some 20 houses in the vicinity of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

“That shows we’re doing things all over the city,” Warbington said. “That’ll give the same opportunities for homeownership in east Albany. We’re looking at 20 single-family homes within walking distance of Phoebe.

“I think we’re really broadening our housing opportunities that will fit in all (price ranges). Housing issues are infrastructure issues.”

The project also has importance in terms of boosting the area’s economy, Jana Dyke, president and CEO of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission, said. Employers need workers, and those workers need a place to live.

“Economic development isn’t just about how we develop the next big project,” she said. “This is the way we’re going to bring our population back in Dougherty County. This is how we’re going to attract businesses. This has been very good today. We want more of this.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]