Up Close with Gwinnett Housing Corporation By Our Town Gwinnett Staff
Gwinnett Housing Corporation (GHC) is pleased to announce the opening of Gwinnett County’s first Homeowner Resource Center. To aid in its development, GHC partnered with Norcross’s Downtown Development Authority to facilitate the building acquisition at 128 Lawrenceville Street. The nonprofit also partnered with HomeAid Atlanta and Lennar to renovate the building. “I am truly grateful for our partnership with HomeAid Atlanta,” said Vice President of Operations Tom Bowers for Lennar Atlanta. “It provided us the opportunity to connect with Gwinnett Housing Corporation and the Norcross DDA to work on this unique project. It’s nothing short of remarkable to know that this completed facility will allow Gwinnett residents to obtain the coveted dream of home ownership.” GHC hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site on June 5th. Local leaders in attendance included Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson; Gwinnett County Commissioner Kirkland Carden; City of Lawrenceville Mayor David Still and Council Members Marlene Crawford Taylor, Victoria Jones, and Austin Thompson; City of Norcross Council Members Matt Myers and Josh Bare; and City of Norcross Downtown Development Authority Members Lauren Summers, Will Shipley, and Jim Eyre. Martha Revello of Senator Raphael Warnock’s
office and Kyra Reed of Congresswoman Lucy McBath’s office were also present. Boasting a terrific turnout of supporters from all across the county, the event opened with an address from GHC Chief Executive Officer Lejla Prljaca about the growing housing crisis and lack of affordable homes in Gwinnett. During her speech, Prljaca revealed the steps GHC is taking to address the need and highlighted partners that will collaboratively work to ensure that more low-to-moderate-income residents in Gwinnett have the opportunity to become homeowners. The Center and its partners will also provide resources to low-to-moderate-income homeowners in Gwinnett that support the preservation of ownership of their current homes. “The Norcross City Council and Staff, Downtown Development Authority, and I are all honored that our city is the birthplace of this first-of-its-kind offering for families in need in Gwinnett,” said Mayor Craig Newton. “As a Place to Imagine, Norcross offers the ideal setting for aspiring homebuyers not only to imagine but realize their dreams of homeownership.” Through the Gwinnett Homeowner Resource Center, the Gwinnett Housing Corporation will provide programming in cooperation with other partner organizations, which include Habitat Gwinnett, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc., Money Management International, Catholic Charities, Community Sustainability Enterprise, the Gwinnett County Housing Department, and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. Programs will include housing counseling, referrals for down payment assistance, access to non-profit developers, lenders, owner-occupied rehabilitation, and home modification activities. “We are very excited to offer this important resource to support Continued on page 21
Seen in Gwinnett Emil’s Photo of the Month
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