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Chief Real Estate Officer Rachel Carey with Westside Future Fund joins the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to share how the organization supports rental housing, homeownership, financing and anti-displacement on the Westside. Carey joins host Carol Morgan on the All About Real Estate segment.
A member of the organization for the last four years, Carey moved to Atlanta from New York City five years ago and has spent her career immersed in affordable housing finance. When she moved here, Carey had a goal to work with Westside Future Fund to take its community development in a new direction.
Westside Future Fund launched in 2013 as a public-private partnership when the city of Atlanta committed funding to the development of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In addition to the arena development, there needed to be contributions to the communities west of the stadium. The neighborhoods served by the organization are English Avenues, Vine City, Atlanta University Center and Ashview Heights.
Carey said, “The thought was it’s time to invest in these neighborhoods and have an organization that’s going to be committed to a transformational, holistic revitalization.”
Westside Future Fund proudly states that “we’re in the housing business because we’re in the people business.” While working on its impact areas in 2016 and 2017, the organization noticed mixed-income housing needs rising to the forefront. The redevelopment of the Westside was on the uptake and many worried that it would bring displacement to the neighborhood.
Along with revitalization, there will be affordable renting and owning options for residents who wish to stay on the Westside. Through a set of community retention guidelines, Westside Future Fund prioritizes individuals who live, work and play on the Westside for the housing developed by the organization.
The current Westside Future Fund goal is to reach 800 units of affordable rental housing for families earning 60 percent of the area median income, which equates to roughly $48,000 annually. There are currently 180 rental housing units, including naturally occurring affordable housing units purchased by the organization. The organization purchased properties on the market at risk of being lost to preserve affordability in the area.
Alongside those efforts, the organization is acquiring vacant lots and land to develop or renovate new affordable housing! Vacant properties were purchased directly from the market or RFPs through Invest Atlanta. These lots will undergo the entire improvement process, from renovations and development to leasing through the organization’s Home on the Westside program.
Carey said, “Our waiting list comes from Home on the Westside and prioritizes people who have been in the community the longest [and] who have the strongest ties to the community to ensure that those people have priority for the work that we’re doing and the housing we’re producing.”
Tune in to the full interview above for more information on the Westside Future Fund or visit www.WestSideFutureFund.org.
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Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #22564. NMLS ID #6606. Subject to borrower and property qualifications. Not all applicants will qualify. New American Funding and Westside Future Fund are not associated. Click here to view the terms and conditions of products mentioned during the show. Corporate office 14511 Myford Rd., Suite 100, Tustin, CA 92780. Phone: (800) 450-2010. (April/2022)
New American Funding is a family-owned mortgage lender with a servicing portfolio of over 216,000+ loans for $56.8 billion, 171 branches and about 4,500+ employees. The company offers several niche loan products and has made Inc. 5000’s list of Fastest-Growing Companies in America seven times. For more information, call 678-898-3540 or visit https://branch.newamericanfunding.com/Atlanta.
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