History

Broad St. circa 1938

In 1937, the Wagner-Steagall Act established the U.S. Housing Authority (later named U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and charged communities with the development of affordable housing in order to "provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low-and-moderate income families." Shortly after that, local community and business leaders established the Athens Housing Authority in 1938 to respond to a basic community need.

Parkview Homes, located at
Broad and Newton streets,
was the first public housing
built in Athens, circa 1942

In 1941, families moved into Parkview Homes, the first public housing in Athens. Since that time, the Athens Housing Authority has overseen the design, construction, maintenance and, administration of ten additional neighborhoods throughout Athens-Clarke County.