Nearly 400 housing experts and advocates gathered Nov. 17 to attend the 5th Annual Magnolia Awards Luncheon at the Cobb Galleria Centre. The annual program recognizes outstanding achievements in affordable housing. Awards are given in six categories - Affordable Rental, Creative Partnerships, Homeownership, Local Government Initiatives, Special Needs and Superior Design.

The City of Fayetteville was selected in the category of Homeownership for its assistance in the redevelopment of Jeff Davis Intown and for creating a Redevelopment Zoning district in the City’s zoning ordinance to facilitate that redevelopment and future redevelopment efforts in the City.

As the first of its kind in the Atlanta region, the City of Fayetteville’s Redevelopment (R-D) zoning district serves as a model for cities seeking to redevelop historic or blighted areas and provide affordable housing.

The City developed and implemented the R-D district to address an older, underutilized apartment complex on North Jeff Davis Drive in historic downtown Fayetteville. A proposed development by Thompson & Company, Jeff Davis Intown Condominiums, would redevelop the apartments and add new, architecturally consistent construction to create affordable homeownership opportunities, but existing zoning ordinances wouldn’t allow it.

In order to encourage responsible rehabilitation such as the proposed project, City staff and the City Attorney worked together to create the new zoning category. In areas where it is applied, the R-D zoning district will increase investment in older properties and raise property values. With the construction of Jeff Davis Intown Condominiums, property that was worth $1.4 million in 2002 is now worth about $5 million, with more improvements to come. Homes are affordably priced at $134,900 in a zip code where the median home price is $189,000. Additionally, the project introduced two new housing types to downtown – garden units and townhouses – within walking distance of shopping, schools and offices.

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