Affordable revamp: East Point apartments renewing as lower-cost housing

As metro Atlanta keeps growing and housing prices remain high, revamping aging apartments is one strategy for providing moderately-priced places to live.

One such complex, in mid-transition, is Polaris at East Point. Property manager Strategic Properties sought to draw prospective residents’ attention by hosting an open house Friday, in conjunction with Lolita Anderson, owner of LA Properties & Consulting.

“We’re looking to create more sustainable housing,” said Malika Staar from The Power of Two Marketing Services. Not necessarily “low-income,” she said, but something affordable and livable for working families.

Twenty units are renovated and available now, and the rest of the complex will be fixed up gradually as current tenants move out, said Staar, whose firm is partnering with LA Properties to work with Strategic Partners’ initiative for affordable housing. Apartment details are available at www.polarisateastpointapartments.com .

The complex, located at 3072 Washington Road, is more than 50 years old and has 120 units. County property records say the complex on 5.8 acres sold two years ago for $12.7 million. The website of Marietta firm Apex Development Group says Apex acquired the property in July 2022, one of the company’s four Polaris complexes in the Atlanta area.

Kimberly Hayes, who lives in another property Anderson manages, heard about openings at Polaris from her. Hayes was the first of several potential tenants who came for a look.

Staar showed Hayes a one-bedroom model unit, renovated with new paint, new flooring, new fixtures and appliances, including a dishwasher.

“I love it!” Hayes said, doing a twirl in the bedroom. She asked about rent: $943 (which includes a limited-time $100 discount) and utilities are included for a $207 extra monthly charge, Staar said.

They moved on to a two-bedroom, two-bath unit, where Hayes admired the bedroom size.

“I’m in a studio now,” she said.

The two-bedrooms rent for $982, with a $234 utility charge, Staar told her. Generally, tenants are asked to have income three times their rent, or around $3,200 a month, she said.

Credit: Jim Gaines

But various forms of housing assistance are welcome at Polaris, including Section 8 rent vouchers.

Staar said the complex partners with several housing programs, and gets referrals from government agencies.

Anderson said became involved in the complex’s renewal due to her experience in navigating housing assistance programs.

The Friday event drew not just apartment-seekers but representatives of several government and nonprofit service agencies, all connected with housing issues.

Renard Register, housing specialist for the Veterans Affairs, said there are more than 500 veterans in the area without homes. Moving them into places like Polaris would be a good start toward getting them back on their feet, he said.

“I think it would be good for our veterans. I think they’d like it,” Register said.

He works with many housing agencies, and checks out places like Polaris as potential homes. To qualify, veterans have to be chronically homeless and register at the VA for a screening process, Register said. Once past that, he tries to get them a housing voucher from one of the area’s housing authorities.

With that housing help comes assignment of a social worker who can help veterans access “wraparound” social services to deal with some causes of homelessness, Register said.

Innovating Group, which buys and renovates properties as multifamily housing, didn’t work on Polaris at East Point. But company president Cesar Contreras came in support of Anderson. His development firm has done lots of work in Atlanta, and has worked with Anderson for more than five years, he said.

“She’s been a great backbone for all of our projects,” Contreras said. “Once they’re stabilized, we bring in Lolita to do her magic.”

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