Athens Area Habitat for Humanity completed the first of what will eventually be 63 affordable houses in East Athens for families, artists, veterans and former foster children attending college.
Most of Micah’s Creek—named for the Bible verse Micah 6:8, reading “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly”—will be located in between Oconee Street and the Firefly Trail, but the first completed house, a small Craftsman-style bungalow, is on an infill lot a few blocks north on Peter Street. Nikeria Sims and her young sons Nasir, Carson and Cartier moved in on Mar. 26.
Those boys will attend Gaines Elementary School and be part of a study by the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences measuring the effect that home ownership has on school performance. A national study “found that students did remarkably better once they moved into a Habitat house,” said Charles Smith, vice president of operations.
The development is being funded primarily with federal American Rescue Plan Act grants awarded by Sen. Jon Ossoff, Gov. Brian Kemp and the Athens-Clarke County government. However, Smith repeatedly emphasized that no taxpayer dollars went toward the home’s solar panels—those were paid for with donations from Wells Fargo and the Kirby Smart Family Foundation, and installed by the local company Infinite Energy Solutions. In addition, local artist Helen Mills has agreed to make a stained glass window for each of the 63 homes in Micah’s Creek.
The development scales up Habitat’s usual model in a way that local officials hope can be replicated elsewhere. According to communications director Paul Farr, there are five ways that Habitat can alleviate poverty. One is simply to increase the housing supply—”You gotta build. You gotta build new homes for people,” he said. In addition, Habitat is able to sell homes at cost, without turning a profit. The houses are energy efficient, reducing the cost of home ownership. When a house is sold, the money goes toward building another affordable house. And owners make an average of 200% return on investment.
When completed, Micah’s Creek will include 37 houses for families, 11 “tiny homes” reserved for artists and military veterans, and 15 units for homeless college students who’ve aged out of the foster care system, the latter known as Lydia’s Place.
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