Atlanta Land Trust
A Place to Call Home
Makeisha Robey, a preschool teacher and mother of seven, always dreamed of owning a home in Atlanta. Housing costs outpaced her income, and what she could afford in the city wasn’t suitable or safe for her family.
Makeisha was not alone in her struggle. While the median household income in Atlanta has climbed nearly 50 percent in the past two decades, rent has skyrocketed by more than 70 percent. And as the city and region continue to grow, the demand for housing surpasses the available supply—exacerbating Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis.
Every year the city loses approximately 1,500 affordable units due to expiring subsidies and increasing property values. The Atlanta Land Trust offers a more sustainable solution through its employment of the innovative, decades-old community land trust (CLT) model.
The first CLT launched in southwest Georgia in 1969 as a tool to empower Black sharecroppers who faced the threat of eviction because of their involvement in the Civil Rights movement. CLTs like the Atlanta Land Trust continue to remove land from the speculative real estate market to address affordable housing shortfalls, racial inequality, and economic disparities.
The first CLT launched in southwest Georgia in 1969 as a tool to empower Black sharecroppers who faced the threat of eviction because of their involvement in the Civil Rights movement. CLTs like the Atlanta Land Trust continue to remove land from the speculative real estate market to address affordable housing shortfalls, racial inequality, and economic disparities.
ALT’s work relies on the dual-ownership structure of a community land trust: low- or moderate-income families purchase and own the house, while ALT holds the land in trust, leasing it to each homeowner. A 99-year ground lease includes resale restrictions to ensure the home is sold to another income-qualified family at an affordable price. As long as the homeowner stays in the house, they are building equity, and when they are ready to sell, ALT sets a price that allows them to share in a portion of the equity while maintaining the home’s affordable price for the next buyer.
This approach distinguishes ALT from other affordable housing providers in the city. It offers a proven, sustainable, and innovative product in Atlanta’s larger effort to create more affordable housing options—and it counters the market-driven displacement associated with gentrification.
Now an ALT homeowner, Makeisha went from paying $550 a month for an unsuitable apartment to paying a monthly mortgage of $503—in the city of Atlanta. She now serves on ALT’s board of directors and recently started her own business. Her home is one of more than 50 units ALT has brought to the market since its founding in 2009, with 180 more homes in the development pipeline.
In late 2023, Atlanta Land Trust celebrated the completion of its inaugural capital campaign—passing its original $11.2 million goal to raise $14 million. Thanks to this success, ALT will create 90 permanently affordable units at three sites in Atlanta’s Oakland City and East Lake neighborhoods.
When our clients succeed, our communities do, too. It was our honor to direct the largest and most comprehensive effort in the ALT's history to scale housing development and make home ownership more accessible to more Atlantans. To learn more about Atlanta Land Trust, visit https://atlantalandtrust.org/