Shirley Place’s proposed $1 housing transfer hits pause

Atlanta’s Community Development/Human Services Committee unanimously held a proposed $1 transfer of the city’s interest in Shirley Place NW to the Metro Atlanta Land Bank on Oct. 27, at the request of sponsor Councilmember Byron D. Amos.⁠[1][2]

The vote kept Ordinance 26-O-1590 in committee; it was not authorization to convey the property. The minutes’ entry records the sponsor’s request but does not explain why he sought the hold.⁠[1][2]

The housing plans extend beyond this parcel. The ordinance says LDG Development and its affiliate, Verbena Family Development, intend to build more than 200 affordable rentals across a larger assemblage called Verbena Gardens or Verbena Street Redevelopment. Shirley Place would be one piece of that site—not the location of all 200-plus homes by itself.⁠[2]

As we explained in our earlier account of the $1 transfer proposal, the deed would preserve a city right to recover the parcel if permanent affordable housing does not receive a city-issued certificate of occupancy within three years of conveyance. That proposed clock is tied to the transfer, not a committee vote.⁠[1][2]