Nearly 1,000 volunteers will fan out across Atlanta’s Sylvan Hills neighborhood this May to build 24 affordable homes for the 40th Carter Work Project, the flagship weeklong building event named after former President Jimmy Carter and his late wife Rosalynn that has constructed roughly 5,000 homes in 14 countries since 1984. The project returns to Atlanta for the first time since 1988, and for the first time ever, it includes multifamily townhomes — a sign of Habitat for Humanity’s expanding role from homebuilder to community developer.
Ozzy Herrera, 27, who works two jobs at the Atlanta airport, toured the frame of his soon‑to‑be home on a recent morning and saw a brown leather sofa, terra‑cotta walls and a bar cart near the kitchen. “It’s special. It’s magical,” he said. Herrera never imagined he would own a home at his age, and the prospect of a stable, income‑based mortgage — Habitat charges no interest — has already reshaped his plans. Rising rents had forced him to move before, draining time and money from his goal of opening a coffee shop. “Now, I can finally take some risks,” he said.
Phileena Daniel, also 27, qualified to buy one of the homes after two years of unstable housing, including a unit infested with rats and roaches. “You know, sometimes we don’t see ourselves going far in life as young Black women in this society,” she said. “This is giving us an opportunity to expand.”
Habitat International CEO Jonathan Reckford said the organization’s move into real estate development is a response to a widening affordability chasm. “The gap between what a family can afford and what it costs to create that unit of housing is the widest it has been in modern history,” he said. Many smaller developers have not recovered from pandemic‑era losses or have gone out of business, leaving Habitat to serve as a developer on more of its projects. Atlanta Habitat President and CEO Rosalyn Merrick called the shift a necessity. “We do believe it’s important to get the best use out of every precious piece of land that we’re able to acquire and come by so that we can serve more families,” she said.
The Sylvan Hills project, called Langston Park, sits on 8 acres that Habitat purchased in 2015 and successfully rezoned for residential use. Each of the 24 homes — a mix of single‑family houses and townhomes — costs about $200,000 to build. Homeowners pay a mortgage set to their income with no interest, and Habitat plans to eventually build 40 more units on the site.
University of Pennsylvania urban economics professor Vincent Reina described Habitat’s developer role as “a classic example of a nonprofit organization really trying to be responsive to community needs.” Reina, who directs the Housing Initiative at Penn, said the organization can still advance homeownership while “acknowledging that we need a diverse set of housing solutions to really meet the needs of individuals.” Research published last year by Reina and Wharton real estate professor Benjamin J. Keys found that high home prices and 30‑year mortgage rates over 7% have made it impossible for even moderate‑income households to afford a home in all but a handful of the 98 most expensive U.S. metro areas.
The affordable housing crunch has drawn attention in Washington. Both the House and Senate have passed separate affordable housing bills, and lawmakers are now negotiating a final version to send to President Donald Trump. Trump has signed executive orders aimed at reducing housing regulatory burdens and helping smaller banks provide mortgages, but his proposed 2027 budget seeks cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and would eliminate numerous community development programs that currently help cities build affordable housing.
For Herrera, the new home opens a door his family never thought possible. His mother survived breast cancer, and he said his parents could come live with him if needed. A low, predictable mortgage frees him to pursue his coffee‑shop dream without the constant pressure of rent increases. “Now, I can finally take some risks,” he repeated, standing inside the unfinished walls where that future would begin.