Macon-Bibb County fund to bridge federal affordable housing gap

Macon-Bibb County is one of just three Georgia cities — along with Atlanta and Savannah — to establish an Affordable Housing Fund intended to bridge the gap where federal funding falls short.

“Historically, federal funding has been more restrictive for housing development,” Natalie Bouyett, executive director of the fund, said. “You can serve a much smaller part of the population, whereas [the Affordable Housing Fund] allows us to expand.”

An area’s median income level is a key measurement in determining who receives federal funding for affordable housing, she explained, those making 80% or less of the area median income receive federal assistance.

For a four-person household in Macon-Bibb County, 80% of the median income is $56,550.

This threshold creates a gap, however, for folks who make slightly above this 80% and can’t qualify for federal affordable housing assistance.

“The federal government is saying you get nothing and we’re saying these people still need help,” Bouyett said.

The county’s Affordable Housing Fund increases the population that can benefit from affordable housing by serving folks who make up to 120% of the median income ($84,825.00 for a 4-person household in Bibb County).

Bibb County established the Affordable Housing Fund last year using $7.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to launch it.
Bouyett described the fund as a “revolving loan” which provides developers with better rates to build in Macon.

“The restriction the federal government is having on [federal affordable housing] funding is just too much for cities to create enough housing solutions for all their citizens, so they need to be more creative,” she said, calling Savannah, Atlanta and Macon the blueprint for other cities’ affordable housing funds.

As executive director, she will collaborate with the Macon Housing Authority and the Land Bank Authority. She will review development applications and help the Macon Housing Authority apply for federal funding. She also plans to look into down payment assistance and research other forms of revenue for the fund.

Bouyett served as the real estate specialist and land bank authority manager for the City of Columbus, Georgia before coming to Macon. In Columbus she taught herself all about land banks and how they work.

“It’s not an easy mechanism to grasp just coming into it,” she said.

A land bank authority claims land that the city forecloses on when taxes aren’t being paid, Bouyett explained, when land is not bought at auction, the bank finds a developer for the property.

The Affordable Housing Fund will help attract those developers who will build on the land so that it doesn’t sit unused.

Bouyett will also handle heirs’ properties or properties with “tangled titles” in which the owner passes away without a will. She will either ensure there is an estate plan in place or she will untangle the title.

“The biggest challenge with the fund right now is just educating our developers, our partners, our non-profits on, this is how you use a land bank,” she said.

Bouyett will host a developers summit in March of 2025 in order to increase knowledge of the fund and how it can be used.

The fund already announced one affordable housing project in September for 64 rental properties in the Historic Pleasant Hill Neighborhood. She also noted the possibility of directing some housing funds to the Lynnmore neighborhoods.

As Bouyett enters her second month on the job, she will look towards “sharpening” collaboration between the fund and the land bank, while continuing to educate folks on how the fund actually works. She also wants to understand the community’s needs and the resources available.

“We have the community’s best interest in mind,” she said. “We want to make sure that we are being good stewards of this money and land.”