The Housing Authority of the City of Winder, GA (WHA) is a quasi-governmental agency created under state statute.
The WHA was created by City of Winder (COW) resolution in 1953, due to a shortage of affordable housing in the county. As the need continued, more public housing was built in not only Winder, but Statham and Braselton, eventually becoming the largest affordable housing provider in Barrow County.
WHA currently employs eighteen full time employees with a $2.5MM annual budget, and 322 rental units in Barrow & Jackson Co. We serve over 800 individuals, with approximately 350 being children and senior citizens age 55+.
In 2013, WHA made the decision to participate in HUDs Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which simply shifts affordable apartments from the Public Housing program to the Section 8 program so that providers may leverage the private capital markets to make capital improvements.
Starting in late 2015 and concluding in early 2016, WHAs entire portfolio was converted from Public Housing to Multifamily PBRA (Project Based Rental Assistance). All WHA units were sold to WHA affiliates, and the program is now de-federalized.
WHA is now Management Agent to its affiliates, Crescent Residential Properties of Winder, LLC and Innovation Crescent Properties, LLC.
WHA is a certified Housing Counseling Agency, helping to prepare folks for homeownership. We are seeing an increase in attendance in these classes.
We are seeing an increase in the number of Veterans looking for housing in our area, as well as grandparents raising grandchildren.
In Feb. 2016, post RAD conversion, WHA purchased the abandoned Winder Barrow Middle School (WBMS), creating the Wimberly Center for Community Development. The Wimberly Center has become a catalyst to spur urban revitalization efforts. Many exciting programs are provided through the Center, all providing a gentle hand up rather than a hand out.
WHA and its affiliates continue to improve the affordable housing inventory, making it available to deserving individuals that work, play and want to live in this great community.
