In 2024 thanks to the support of funders and partners, we continued our commitment in the Southeast to make home and community steppingstones to more. Home is where life happens and futures begin, and we are leading efforts to provide sustaining solutions to some of the most complex housing challenges in our region.
Equipping houses of worship to develop affordable housing
As part of the Enterprise Faith-Based Development InitiativeSM (FBDI), the southeast team is working with two cohorts comprised of 32 houses of worship in Atlanta and South Florida interested in transforming their underdeveloped or underutilized land to develop affordable housing and/or community facilities.
Last year, we celebrated a pivotal milestone when one cohort member, First Baptist Church Gresham Road in Decatur, broke ground on their project to develop 125 units of affordable senior housing with the Vecino Group.
We also celebrated our second FBDI cohort for successfully completing the 8-month technical assistance curriculum. The curriculum aims to make houses of worship "comfortably conversant" in the development process while also providing grant funds to support early pre-development work.
We are excited to see our faith-based partners in Atlanta and South Florida make progress on their projects, and we continue to explore opportunities to bring FBDI to new areas across the Southeast.
Supporting policy solutions
In 2024, Enterprise worked with advocacy partners to ensure passage of the Safe at Home Act (House Bill 404) in Georgia and to protect the Georgia Housing Tax Credit from proposed cuts.
Beth Stephens, our Southeast Director of State and Local Policy, also published the report, State and Local Housing Trust Funds: Critical Tools to Address Georgia’s Housing Crisis, which discusses the value of housing trust funds, shares examples from other states and localities, and explores opportunities for Georgia to expand the reach of state and local housing trust funds to address housing challenges.
Following the release of this report, Enterprise convened local housing partners in Savannah to discuss this proven best practice, and we look forward to continuing to advocate for this important resource in 2025.
We also invited 19 graduate students and advocates to participate in our first Georgia Housing Policy Mentorship Cohort. The program included a series of mentoring sessions led by attorney and public policy advocate, Elizabeth Appley, and provided a unique professional development opportunity for those looking to engage more deeply in affordable housing advocacy and homelessness prevention.
Last year, Enterprise also established its first state and local policy presence in Florida and welcomed Alexander Miles as the Senior Program Director of State and Local Policy in Florida in September. Based in Miami, Alexander is focused on addressing Florida’s critical housing challenges, including the property insurance crisis, homelessness, and condo affordability.
Preserving affordability in small and medium multifamily housing
In 2024, Enterprise completed our Southeast Preservation Academy, a series of trainings to help developers and housing providers build their capacity to acquire, rehabilitate, and preserve affordable unsubsidized small to medium multifamily (SMMF) rental properties and stabilize the residents and communities that depend on this housing stock. Over 560 attendees joined the Southeast Preservation Academy sessions live, with even more individuals watching the recordings after the fact. We are particularly proud of the Academy’s in-person financing session, which provided an unparalleled opportunity for preservation-focused developers to connect with lenders, investors, and grant makers who can support their projects.
In addition to the public training series, Enterprise supported a cohort of affordable housing developers in Metro Atlanta and South Florida with additional training, catalytic grants, and technical assistance to manage active preservation projects, preserve their existing portfolio, and provide resident stability. Enterprise disbursed $385,000 in grant funding, which cohort members have directly attributed to the success of their small to medium multifamily preservation pipelines. In September 2024, the cohort reported having 545 such units in their pipeline, a 10% increase from when they were surveyed at the start of the Academy. Enterprise is committed to supporting these cohort members over the long-term and looks forward to our continued partnership with these organizations in 2025.
Coordinating funds to support development
2024 was a banner year for the House ATL Funders’ Collective, a coordinated investment roundtable staffed by Enterprise; funders reviewed 15 development projects (representing 1,099 affordable units) with innovative financing structures and development models, including residential conversions.
Funders thoughtfully engaged with each project, working collaboratively to support these projects by connecting with individual developers to make deal-level investments. This collaboration across Atlanta’s private, public, and philanthropic sectors has allowed the Funders’ Collective to review a total of 56 projects and 5,031 affordable homes since 2019.
In 2025, Enterprise is hard at work to expand the Funders’ Collective model to new regions within the Southeast, and to continue the important work in our home city of Atlanta.
Investing in affordable housing preservation and production
In 2024, Enterprise Community Loan Fund invested $27 million in 12 developments in the Southeast, preserving and producing 917 affordable homes, one Charter School, and one early childhood education center. Enterprise’s Housing Credit Investments (HCI) closed on four deals representative of 539 units and $69.2 million in the Southeast in 2024. Additionally, Bellwether Enterprise (BWE) closed on 18 affordable loans totaling $166 million in the Southeast in 2024.
Enterprise continues our active commitment to provide affordable housing to low-Income households and seeks future investments with both non-profit and for-profit partners. Sponsors interested in partnering with us, can refer to the Originator Map for up-to-date contact information.
Looking ahead
The Enterprise Southeast team is proud of all we’ve accomplished in 2024 with the support of dedicated funders and partners. This year, we’re looking forward to continuing the good work of making home and community places of pride, power, and belonging.