Buckhead Aims to Reduce Traffic by Improving Housing Options

Posted August 13, 2018

HR&A advisors selected for study of strategies to increase diversity of housing supply

ATLANTA – August 13, 2018 – Buckhead planners are asking, “Can we build our way out of our traffic problem?” The answer just might be yes… by building a better mix of housing types that are available at a broader range of price points.

“Buckhead’s traffic problem is largely a housing problem,” said Denise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead. “Housing is concentrated at the high end of the cost scale, putting it out of reach of many of the people who work here. The end result is that 98 percent of the workforce commutes from outside Buckhead every day, which is a major contributor to traffic.”

A variety of housing studies have quantified the mismatch between Buckhead’s housing options and what is affordable for its workforce. According to a housing market analysis developed by Bleakely & Associates as part of the BUCKHEAD REdeFINED master plan, approximately 20 percent (13,500) of employees working in Buckhead can afford monthly rent of no more than $1,500 per month. However, there are only 3,500 apartment units in the Buckhead core with rents at that price point.

Livable Buckhead is now leading an effort to solve the problem, working with the Buckhead Community Improvement District and a steering committee of approximately 30 stakeholders to create actionable strategies for diversifying housing options.

“We’re not looking for a silver bullet,” said Jim Durrett, executive director of BCID. “No single strategy will solve Buckhead’s housing challenges, but we’re confident that we can pursue multiple approaches that increase opportunities for people who work here to live here as well.”

HR&A Advisors, Inc. has been selected to provide planning services for the project. The company is a national real estate and economic development advisory firm that has led numerous housing and economic development studies in the Atlanta market including conducting an equitable housing analysis for the City of Atlanta and analyzing housing cost drivers for the Atlanta Apartment Association. The Buckhead effort is funded by a Livable Centers Initiative grant through the Atlanta Regional Commission with local matching funds provided by the BCID. Work on the study will begin in August and is anticipated to take approximately six months to complete.

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About Livable Buckhead

Livable Buckhead is a nonprofit organization that strives to ensure the long-term viability and prosperity of the Buckhead community. The organization achieves its mission by working cooperatively with individuals, public entities and private businesses to integrate sustainable strategies. Livable Buckhead implements programs related to greenspace, recycling, energy efficiency, commute alternatives, arts and culture, real estate development and land use. For more information about Livable Buckhead and its programs, visit livablebuckhead.org.

About Buckhead CID
The objective of the Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID), working with the City of Atlanta and its community partners, is to meet the challenges resulting from Buckhead’s rapid, primarily automobile-based growth, including improving safety, traffic mobility, enhancing the pedestrian environment, creating better access to public transit, initiating intra-district transportation alternatives, encouraging better integration of land uses and improving linkages to the region’s automobile, transit and bicycle networks.

Buckhead Housing Study Steering Committee