DECATUR, GA – At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 17, Decatur Housing Authority (DHA) will officially open Oakview Walk, a beautiful redevelopment of the former Oakview Apartments at 1111 Oakview Road in Decatur’s Oakhurst neighborhood. Replacing this outdated apartment complex, Oakview Walk now consists of 34 family apartments in an attractive three-story building. It includes 27 one-bedroom units and seven two-bedroom apartments, all built to the Enterprise Community Green standard. The community also includes a multipurpose community room, a covered exterior gathering area, onsite laundry, a “tot lot” equipped play area, fenced community garden, gathering area with kitchen, computer lab, wellness center and an onsite management office.
The original Oakview Apartments were built nearly 60 years ago, and although the community remained fully occupied due to its outstanding location near schools, public transportation and jobs, the apartments were physically and functionally obsolete for today’s families, with poorly-designed floor plans and lacking modern energy efficiency and amenities. As the property aged, it required heavy investment by DHA for repairs, and the individual units did not meet the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ minimum requirements for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
Because DHA and the City of Decatur are committed to maintaining economic diversity within the city through workforce housing, DHA created a revitalization strategy for the former 88 units of Gateway Manor and 24 units of Oakview Apartments to be conducted in three phases and to create new communities of attractive, energy-efficient apartment homes with onsite amenities and life-enhancing programs in the communities’ original locations.
“We believe in creating transformational communities that go far beyond bricks and mortar,” said DHA Executive Director Douglas Faust. “In addition to incorporating energy efficient design, appliances and materials into the communities we build and manage, we look for ways to enhance the lifestyles of our residents through community gardening programs, play areas for the children, academic resources for students and mentoring programs.”
Oakview Walk is the third and final phase of the massive Trinity Walk revitalization effort by DHA, the City of Decatur, Preserving Affordable Housing, Inc. (PAH), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), City Schools of Decatur, MARTA, Hudson Housing Capital, Sugar Creek Capital, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch. Martin Riley Associates was the architect for Oakview Walk, Kimley-Horn was the project engineer, and Bradley Construction served as general contractor. DHA construction inspection was managed by Mary Beth Hemenway of The Hemenway Group, LLC, and Green Building monitoring and testing was handled by Carl Seville of SK Collaborative.
By forming these strategic partnerships, and by creating a comprehensive master plan for the redevelopment of Decatur’s Trinity Walk in two phases prior to the redevelopment of Oakview Walk, DHA was able to minimize disruption and relocation of current residents. The former residents of Oakview Apartments, many of whom were elderly and/or disabled, were able to move directly into the newly-built Trinity Walk Apartments, while Oakview Walk was re-designed and built primarily for families and working adults.
“The City of Decatur is relatively unique in that its affordable housing communities are part of the fabric of the city, and not constructed some distance away. This allows students to attend the award-winning public schools and offers easy access to public transportation and area jobs for adults,” said Faust. “Both Trinity Walk and Oakview Walk are a short distance away from public parks, shopping, dining, medical facilities, recreation and downtown worship centers.
“Workforce and affordable housing options are vital to the health of any city,” he continued. “In fact, a number of local organizations and businesses partner with us to provide enhanced educational opportunities for our younger residents as well as employment, health and wellness programs for the adults.”
These partnerships include:
Decatur’s Wylde Center and the University of Georgia Extension Service which will offer onsite gardening, cooking and nutrition programs.
Bryant Pharmacy, working with local businesses, will provide free, regular health screenings to residents.
Decatur Education Foundation, local citizens and Decatur businesses have collaborated to create The Opportunity Partnership, a mentoring program for low income students. The program connects the students with quality opportunities to help them explore their interests, find their passions and develop useful life skills.
DHA’s award-winning STARS Afterschool Program, offered onsite for younger students. It includes tutoring, homework assistance, reading, computer skills and enrichment classes.
Twenty-seven of the new apartments are tax credit units designed for families earning 30-60% of Area Median Income (AMI). The remaining seven apartments are designated as workforce housing for families earning 80% to 120% of AMI with rents below market rate.
With the nine homes at Trinity Walk I & II and the completion of 34 homes at Oakview Walk, DHA has added 43 new homes to its affordable housing stock. Since 2014, this is a nine percent increase in housing stock (from 475 up to 518 homes) while completing the complete revitalization of Allen Wilson and Trinity Walk communities comprised of 346 homes for a total investment of $55.7 million.
About the Decatur Housing Authority: The Decatur Housing Authority (DHA) has served the needs of the residents of the City of Decatur since its creation in 1938. In addition to its role in developing, owning and managing public housing, DHA has made a significant impact on the economic growth and well-being of this small city, not only by providing much-needed workforce and affordable housing for 1,686 families in the greater Decatur area, but also by redeveloping substandard housing and working to provide families with the necessary tools to build better lives through self-sufficiency.