The developer of the 117-unit Thrive Sweet Auburn mixed-use affordable project will soon go vertical, according to a construction permit application filed on Thursday.
Led by property owner Project Community Connections, Inc. and developer Mercy Housing Southeast, the four-story, 116,500 square-foot development will consist of units for incomes ranging from 30 percent to 80 percent of area median income, as well as an array of non-residential uses including about 12,000 square feet of office space.
This month’s filing lists a cost of construction of $15.15 million, with the project expected to cost about $20 million overall. It follows land disturbance and demolition permit applications filed for 302 Decatur St. late last year and in January.
The project will feature studios through three-bedrooms and include 24 units for formerly homeless residents as permanent supportive housing, according to Mercy Housing Southeast President James Alexander.
“Part of what is significant about this development is we are helping to serve that need and house people who are currently homeless, providing a stable base for them and a foundation for the rest of their lives,” Alexander said.
“By accommodating households with varying incomes and providing a diverse unit mix, together, PCCI and Mercy Housing Southeast strive to make Thrive Sweet Auburn an inclusive space for residents with different needs,” PCCI’s Thrive Sweet Auburn project website reads.
The ground-floor commercial space at Thrive Sweet Auburn will serve as new space for administrative work of PCCI, which had occupied the old building at 302 Decatur, and it will include the building’s leasing office and residential amenities.
Plans also call for the project to host a range of social enterprises and community services, including entrepreneurial and job-readiness training. The project may include a new commercial kitchen that would offer food-service training and certification, according to PCCI’s website. Plans on file with the city since December show about 6,600 square feet allocated to co-working space.
Alexander also said financing the project was one of the major challenges it presented. Over 70% of funding will come from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and Truist Bank, with the remainder coming from Mercy Housing, nonprofit charity Partners for Home, Wells Fargo (via nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners), and The Home Depot Foundation, he said.
Designed by Goode Van Slyke Architecture, the project will rise about 38 feet, and a block west of the King Memorial MARTA Station. It is also near a variety of institutions, including Georgia State University, and other projects. It is across the street from 263 Decatur St., where a group that includes former NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson is planning a 500-bed student-housing project.
