Atlanta Habitat for Humanity

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity launched in 1983 as an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, founded by President and CEO Rosalyn Merrick. The organization emerged during a period of intense urban renewal debate in Atlanta and has since become the city's largest single-family affordable homebuilder. It generates revenue through a combination of no-interest mortgage payments, corporate and foundation grants, ReStore retail operations, and individual donations. Its operational model relies heavily on partnerships with Atlanta's corporate base, including The Home Depot Foundation and Delta Air Lines, which supply both funding and volunteer labor forces for construction. The organization develops single-family homes across Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton counties, concentrating on infill lots and larger planned subdivisions. It runs a two-story retail operation through its ReStore locations, selling donated building materials and home goods to fund overhead and construction. Atlanta Habitat targets working families earning 60% to 80% of area median income and originates its own 30-year, zero-interest mortgages. The Browns Mill Village development, built in partnership with Wells Fargo, represents its largest planned community, combining affordable homeownership units with mixed-income housing and green space on a former public housing site. Additional completed communities include Langston Park in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood. The organization also manages a portfolio of commercial properties, including its Memorial Drive headquarters and a South Fulton ReStore location. With over 1,700 homes completed and an active pipeline of new builds, Atlanta Habitat ranks among the most productive Habitat affiliates nationally. Merrick and Board Chair Jeremy Silverman, a partner at Alston & Bird LLP, oversee a governance structure that blends nonprofit housing expertise with corporate legal and real estate experience. The affiliate maintains close ties to the Metro Atlanta Chamber through Silverman's civic engagement. In February 2025, the organization broke ground on a new 20-home subdivision in DeKalb County, continuing its post-pandemic expansion from scattered-site builds into suburban master-planned projects. Atlanta Habitat's structural differentiator is its mortgage portfolio. Unlike most Habitat affiliates, which sell loans to Habitat International or third-party servicers, Atlanta Habitat retains mortgage servicing and default management in-house. This creates a durable balance-sheet relationship with each homeowner family, extending well beyond the construction phase. The ReStore retail network provides a reliable, recession-resistant revenue stream — a feature rare among affordable housing nonprofits — which partially insulates the organization from fluctuations in donor and grant cycles.