Providing enough affordable housing is one of the most difficult issues facing rebounding urban areas such as Atlanta.

Just last week, Mayor Shirley Franklin unveiled the recommendations of her Affordable Workforce Housing Implementation Taskforce, led by Ron Terwilliger, CEO of Trammell Crow Residential. The vice chairwoman was Renee Glover, director of the Atlanta Housing Authority.

In short, the recommendations call for:

•the creation of a $75 million housing opportunity bond that would provide subsidies for development as well as mortgage assistance;

•a voluntary inclusionary zoning program where developers would receive incentives if they made at least 10 percent of the units affordable (the incentives would be a 20 percent density bonus as well as a 25 percent reduction in permitting fees for those projects); and

•a partnership with the Enterprise Foundation to acquire land that would help nonprofit developers build affordable housing.

Those recommendations are a good start. But they alone will not fill the need for affordable work force housing in our region.

Atlanta should be commended for tackling this issue. Yet, just like the issue of homelessness, the entire region (if not the entire state) should have policies that stimulate the development of affordable housing.

The task force also would have preferred recommending a program with mandatory inclusionary zoning — meaning that all developers wanting to build in the city would have to include affordable units in their developments. But it appears that laws in Georgia would have to be changed before such a program could be implemented.

Also, while a housing opportunity bond fund will help provide initial dollars to build affordable housing, the bonds will have to be repaid.

One of the leading developers of affordable housing in Atlanta — Bruce Gunter, CEO of Progressive Redevelopment Inc. — says that’s not ideal.

“It needs to be equity rather than debt,” says Gunter, who understands how difficult it is to develop below-market-rate housing.

Gunter’s company has developed 4,000

affordable housing units in the past 17 years.

But he says the challenge has been getting harder in the past five years as land costs and construction costs have risen faster than people’s incomes.

“We have a crisis that is in fact growing,” says Terwilliger, who has donated $5 million of his own money to the Urban Land Institute to help tackle the problem. “This is not a one-time problem or a one-time solution. This is a growing problem as the gap between the haves and the have nots gets wider.”

Looking at all the condos and apartment towers being built in the city, it’s hard to

believe there’s a lack of housing. But the overwhelming majority of the new residences are beyond the reach of teachers, nurses, police, firefighters and government employees. Yet communities benefit when those people are our neighbors.

If work force housing becomes an integral part of our communities, it can help transform our urban areas. People living in developments around transit, especially MARTA’s rail stations, can reduce their transportation expenses and contribute to a 24-hour vibrant city.

The task force estimates that Atlanta will need 40,000 new affordable housing units in the next decade.

“In order to provide that housing, the needed subsidy exceeds $1 billion,” Franklin says, adding that the city anticipates investing $240 million for affordable housing along the BeltLine, the 22-mile ring around the central city that calls for parks, trails, transit and new development.

The city also should explore other opportunities — primarily by working on grass-roots neighborhood efforts.

“I want the emphasis to be on the renovation of existing stock that is caught in fraud and absentee ownership,” Atlanta City councilwoman Mary Norwood said. “I want to see us knit the communities back together in an affordable fashion.”

Two neighborhoods facing problems of mortgage fraud and vacant houses are the historic Westview and the Washington Park communities inside the city.

Together, hundreds of attractive homes in just these two communities are sitting vacant — often saddled with complicated tax and ownership issues, often a result of mortgage fraud.

Scott Smith of the Westview community has inventoried more than 300 such properties. And Heidi Chandonia has identified 16 vacant houses on just her block in the Washington Park community.

Population in Atlanta and the entire metro area is on the rise. Atlanta successfully appealed its census population count this summer, and it now officially has more than 483,000 residents. Estimates show that Atlanta’s population could reach 800,000 in the next 25 years.

Meanwhile, metro Atlanta’s population could total 7 million by 2030.

All this growth could lead to higher land costs, increased housing prices, more congestion and greater inequities between the rich and poor.

Or we as a region could pull together to ensure we will have quality housing for all our residents by providing affordable homes near where people work and play.

Spring in Atlanta is synonymous with Home Tours. This year, the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (HBA) is helping home buyers take advantage of a favorable home market by opening doors to hundreds of new homes around town. The HBA scattered-site Parade of Homes will be held from March 10 – 25, 2007 – allowing for three full weekends to visit homes. This event is free and open to the public. Specifics on builders and communities participating will be available on www.atlantahomebuilders.com closer to the event.

“This event will showcase Atlanta home builders’ new home designs and trends for 2007,” said David Ellis, Executive Officer of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. “It offers those in the home buying process the opportunity to view many communities at one time.”

This event comes at a perfect time. Today’s real estate is perceived as a buyers’ market. For many, that makes owning a dream home an even more affordable option than previously thought. Interest rates are at an almost record low, increasing how much home can be bought for the same monthly payment than with higher interest rates. A strong job market and falling gas prices are also contributing factors, making now the best time to buy a new home and get a great deal.

With many new homes available for purchase, home buyers have a great opportunity to choose the very location, model and options they want. Builders and home sellers are also offering incentives and price reductions to attract buyers in a slow housing market. The 2007 Parade of Homes will allow home buyers the opportunity to view hundreds of homes around Atlanta and get a good idea of the exact home they are looking for.

For more information on the 2007 Parade of Homes, please contact the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association at events@atlantahomebuilders.com or call 770-938-9900 ext. 1426. For a list of specific communities participating in the Parade of Homes, visit www.atlantahomebuilders.com.