Commodore Square Townhouses

Over the past decade, the City of Decatur has experienced tremendous population growth increasing demand for housing, and escalating home costs. City workers, including schoolteachers, police, and fire department workers, are increasingly unable to afford to live in the areas they serve. To address this concern the Housing Authority, in conjunction with a related non-profit and a private developer, worked to develop Commodore Square townhouses. The challenge for the Housing Authority was to initiate a housing development that would provide affordable housing options for a number of city workers while maintaining a level of quality and design that would contribute to the revitalization of neighborhoods surrounding the development. The neighborhoods surrounding the development are beginning to show increasing numbers of housing rehabs, an indicator of the project's impact on the desirability of the neighborhood.

The community played an important role in its support for the project. The Authority convinced property owners in surrounding neighborhoods that the project would be an enhancement to the community, and that it would likely help spur neighborhood revitalization and improve area home values. As a result, the community rallied behind the Authority in its efforts to obtain a land-use variance from the City to develop the new townhouses.