Study Proposes Reducing Traffic by Tripling Number of Buckhead Worker-Residents
Employer-assisted housing, additional housing supply could increase workers living in Buckhead
ATLANTA – August 27, 2019 – A recently completed study on Buckhead housing shows that increasing the number of workers who also live in the community could have a positive impact on local traffic. While only eight percent of the workforce – roughly 6,100 people — currently live in Buckhead, the study proposes an action plan to almost triple that number and eliminate up to 300,000 miles of commute travel each day.
The action plan includes a combination of short-, mid- and long-term approaches that will connect workers to existing housing, preserve housing affordability and eventually lead to construction of new workforce housing. One of the first action steps is a concerted effort to educate local employers about preferred renter programs that can lower employees’ housing costs, such as the one offered by AMLI Residential.
“Our top priority is to increase the connections between employers and local housing options for their employees,” said Denise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead, which led the study in partnership with the Buckhead Community Improvement District. “That can help our traffic problem right out of the gate. It also helps ensure that as new housing units come on the market that a growing percentage of them will be occupied by people who want to both live and work in Buckhead.”
The Buckhead Housing and Commute Study included a market analysis to determine how many Buckhead workers would consider living in the community and how much housing is needed to accommodate them. The analysis identified demand for approximately 12,000 new units, split evenly between market rate options that appeal to high income households and units that are affordable for households making $50,000 or less annually. Proposed programs to meet that goal include attracting non-profit investment in workforce housing, promoting co-living and micro-units, and developing housing incentive programs.
Across the region, multiple groups are looking for ways to address metro Atlanta’s need for more workforce housing. The Buckhead study and its recommended approaches work in concert with those efforts but remain focused on a community-based solution aimed at improving traffic conditions.
“We set out to improve traffic conditions in Buckhead, but the good news is that we can be part of the regional workforce housing solution at the same time,” Starling added. “Putting moderately priced housing in Buckhead can make a real difference in the lives of the people who work here by giving them access to high-quality healthcare and great schools, and reducing their transportation costs.”
The Buckhead Housing and Commuting Study was conducted by HR&A Advisors, Inc. and funded by a Livable Centers Initiative grant through the Atlanta Regional Commission with local matching funds provided by the BCID. The effort was guided by a steering committee of approximately 30 stakeholders including representatives of Invest Atlanta, Atlanta Housing Authority, the Atlanta district council of the Urban Land Institute, the City of Atlanta Office of Housing and Community Development, as well as local real estate developers and property managers. Implementation of the action plan will fall to many members of this group.
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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
- Dwight Bell, Cannon Equities
- Valerie Bernardo, City of Atlanta Housing
- Nancy Bliwise, NPU-B
- Karen Bremmer, Georgia Restaurant Association
- Ashley Carson, Atlantic Capital
- Tom Cunningham, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
- Darion Dunn, Atlantica Properties
- Annie Evans, AMLI Residential
- Debbie Frank, MARTA
- John Graham, Core Properties
- Jessica Hill, Morris Manning & Martin, LLP
- Tim Keane, City of Atlanta Bureau of Planning
- Sarah Kirsch, Urban Land Institute
- Johnny Ladson – Gables Residential
- Atticus Leblanc, Padsplit
- Robin Loudermilk, Loudermilk Companies
- Dawn Luke, Invest Atlanta
- Odetta MacLeish- White, TransFormation Alliance
- P. Matzigkeit, Atlanta City Council
- Rodney Milton, City of Atlanta Housing
- Trish O’Connell, Atlanta Housing Authority
- Michael Outlaw, Rockefeller Capital Management
- Egbert Perry, Integral
- Cecil Phillips, Place Properties
- Stephen Qualls, Embassy Suites
- Amanda Rhein, Atlanta Land Trust
- Ellen Rogers, Bank of America
- Howard Shook, Atlanta City Council
- Janide Sidifall, City of Atlanta Office of Mobility
- Sally Silver, Atlanta City Council District 7
- Rachel Sprecher, Atlanta Public Schools
- Marjy Stagmeier, TriStar
- Patty Webb, Harry Norman
- Scott Werbel, Ardent
- Brian Williams, Macy’s
- Kevin Glass, Atlanta International School
