Developer wants Invest Atlanta’s help with Big Bethel Tower redevelopment

Could renovated affordable housing be en route to downtown with a little help from the government?

Atlanta developer Benoit Group is hoping the city’s economic development arm will approve a $14 million tax-exempt bond to overhaul the Big Bethel Tower apartment complex, according to Bisnow.

Invest Atlanta is expected to vote soon on whether the 180-unit apartment tower on Auburn Avenue in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s childhood neighborhood will receive the bond’s help with its $32 million redevelopment.

Construction, according to Bisnow, would span 21 months, and the Housing and Urban Development department would pay for the project once completed.

Should Benoit secure the tax incentives, rent prices would be set at 60 percent of the area median income, meaning one-bedrooms would run for $759 and two-beds would cost just $912 per month.

The tower’s revamp is part one of $120 million, three-phased ambitions to reimagine the historic church property.

Benoit is also partnering with Russel New Urban for the big project, which was announced three years ago by church officials.

The area’s redevelopment could one day bring new student housing near Georgia State University, retail offerings, and a new parking complex, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

• Developer Seeking Incentives For Big Bethel Tower Redo [Biznow]
• Big Bethel to join Benoit/Russell on $120 million Auburn Ave. development [Atlanta Business Chronicle]