Tuesday, June 3, 2025–11:00 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The City of Rome, in partnership with the State of Georgia and hopefully the Land Bank Authority, is looking to build affordable housing.
Over the years, the city has accumulated around $850,000 in Community Home Investment Program (CHIP) funds, which must be used or sent back.
The HOME Trust Fund Build would see the construction of homes on land bank property.
“These are lots that were taken in that were dead to the market that the city or county had owned for years that were tax-delinquent, abandoned, etc.,” said Rome Community Development Director Bekki Fox. “So, we are very excited about this new partnership, and again, we will be building brand new, affordable housing—most likely two-bedroom, one bath—on a variety of different lots across the city that the land bank currently has in inventory.”
Fox explained that the funds cannot be used for any other purpose.
“There have been comments like ‘instead of building these houses, why don’t you fix the streets?’ or ‘why don’t you build a housing complex for the homeless?’ or something like that,” she said. “Well, these funds cannot be used for any of those things. These funds can only be used for what our plan is to use them for. It’s either use them for this or send them back to the state, and they will just reallocate them to Cartersville, Calhoun, or another community.”
Fox believes the money they currently have on hand could build four homes, which would generate additional program income, and if the state continues to allow local governments to use that income, more homes could be built.
