The Finley Street Cottages project shows how parking mandates can prevent desperately needed development — and how removing those mandates makes housing more attainable and affordable.

Atlanta is struggling with a growing housing crisis. Despite public investment in transit and job creation, many neighborhoods are locked in their current state. Vacant lots remain vacant, rental properties become run down, and the few projects that are completed are expensive and don’t align with the character of the community.

The Finley Street Cottages project was conceived as a response to these local struggles. The development team had the opportunity to redevelop two blighted lots in the heart of the city into a cottage court. The new development was an opportunity to build affordable and walkable housing that could serve the workforce and foster a connected community. ​At the scale of two lots, the redevelopment was small enough not to require subsidies, and the neighborhood’s zoning code already allowed for this type of development. Ideally, the cottage court would emulate the traditional patterns of the neighborhood and grow incrementally over time.

Following the traditional pattern of the neighborhood, utilizing existing zoning, and not relying on subsidies or grants should have made this a straightforward project, one that could represent the community and provide a place for new residents to call home. However, as the project team sketched out the site plan and developed a financial analysis, they quickly encountered a significant roadblock: Atlanta's stringent parking requirements.

The existing parking mandates required a substantial portion of the land to be dedicated to parking spaces, which not only increased costs but also reduced the available space for housing units. This made it nearly impossible to achieve the desired affordability. The team realized that, under conventional approaches, the math simply didn't work.

Atlanta’s parking code had the unintended consequence of locking the downtown neighborhoods in time. The natural pattern of development through incremental steps was replaced with giant leaps or, worse, decline. The Finley Street Cottages exposed this unintended consequence and shined a light on a struggle that could be addressed at the most local level.

Atlanta officials recognized that the need for more attainable housing was more important than an abundance of parking, and they decided to reevaluate and change the parking requirements. This kind of policy adjustment can be completed in a matter of weeks, and it’s a game-changer for neighborhood development.

With the new parking requirements in place, the Finley Street Cottages team was able to reconfigure the site plan. The reduced need for parking spaces freed up land, allowing for more housing units and additional green space. This not only made the project financially viable but also aligned with the developers’ goal of creating a walkable and connected neighborhood.

By reducing minimum parking requirements, the Finley Street Cottages project was able to offer rents that were 20% to 60% more affordable. The development's location within a 15-minute bicycle radius of essential services and amenities further enhanced its appeal, promoting a vibrant and sustainable community.

Atlanta officials' decision to reduce parking requirements was instrumental in making the Finley Street Cottages project possible. This is an example of how local governments can address local needs by removing self-imposed barriers.

Learn how to bring more housing to your city. “The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform” presents six code reforms that local officials can implement today with the authority they already have. It explains how to implement these reforms and provides real examples of places that have already done so.

Want to go even deeper? Sign up for the spring session of the Accelerator to get coaching from Strong Towns experts. Discuss approaches with other professionals and develop a plan to make your community housing ready.

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