Village of (relatively) attainable Decatur infill housing nears debut - Y'[email protected]

Village of (relatively) attainable Decatur infill housing nears debut Josh GreenTue, 03/24/2026 - 14:41Construction is underway at a village-style node of “missing middle” housing near Decatur, and project leaders say a soft launch to start drumming up interest will begin next week. Cottages at Midway, a mixed-income community, calls for 18 standalone, for-sale houses built around shared courtyards and a greenspace. The goal is to turn vacant lots into more accessible, single-family ITP housing near a major commercial corridor and downtown Decatur, where median home values have climbed [https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/decatur-dekalb-ga/] to more than $700,000. The pocket neighborhood—located at 2883 and 2893 Midway Road in unincorporated Decatur—is replacing two underused lots totaling 2.1 acres on a residential street, next to Spirit and Truth Sanctuary church. The site is tucked off Columbia Drive, near the Belvedere Plaza shopping center on Memorial Drive (formerly home to Kroger Citi-Center), outside the City of Decatur. All 18 homes will feature two bedrooms in a variety of floorplans, ranging from 800 to 1,200 square feet. All will also be solar-ready. alt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%20map%202.png?itok=7E4R37YD]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%20map%202.png?itok=t33x-mw6Overview of the Cottages at Midway property in relation to the large Belvedere Plaza shopping center, where Kroger has closed its anchor Belvedere Citi-Center location. Google Mapsalt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%202.png?itok=0UNwcsC-]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%202.png?itok=9RbmMdMrCottages at Midway; courtesy of MicroLife InstituteThe cottages project is being led by MicroLife Institute, Housing Development Corporation of DeKalb, and Alair Homes. According to MicroLife Institute executive director Will Johnston, a planned April 1 soft launch for the project is meant to serve as an initial look at what’s coming for the general public. “With the soft launch, the focus is less on hard sales and more on building an early interest pipeline and preparing buyers—and lenders—ahead of sales opening this summer,” Johnston wrote via email. “[The project is] designed to hit that ‘missing middle’ sweet spot between single-family and multifamily.”The mixed-income structure is being finalized, according to Johnston, but current plans call for six homes being capped at sales prices for buyers earning 80 percent of the Area Median Income or less. Another six homes would be sold at 120 percent AMI, and the remaining six at market-rate, per Johnston. A project announcement in September stated Cottages at Midway homes would range between $375,000 and $475,000. “On pricing, we’re still working through final numbers given construction costs and financing structure,” Johnston said. “The ranges previously discussed publicly are still directionally helpful, but we’re not locking anything in just yet as we refine the AMI execution and subsidy layering.“For the AMI units,” Johnston continued, “we’re working with Decide DeKalb on a silent second mortgage approach to make the homes truly attainable for income-qualified buyers… who often don’t realize they could qualify for homeownership in a project like this.”alt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%201.png?itok=Milr-IXg]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%201.png?itok=LyX1DGBJCottages at Midway; courtesy of MicroLife Institutealt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%203.png?itok=-rNQY6z1]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%203.png?itok=h3xoAU_3Cottages at Midway; courtesy of MicroLife InstituteMicroLife Institute previously developed another single-family project with similar goals—Cottages on Vaughn [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/photos-georgias-first-tiny-home-village-complete-and-sold-out] in Clarkston, considered Georgia’s first tiny home village—that quickly sold out several years ago. Communal, HOA-managed amenities in Decatur call for raised garden beds for residents and either a play space or dog park, with pedestrian walkways throughout.To [http://throughout.To] help move the project forward, the Decide DeKalb Development Authority board last year approved a $2.25-million Urban Renewal Fund award for Cottages at Midway, via the Avondale Mall/Columbia Drive (Avondale) Tax Allocation District. The project is expected to cost $6.8 million overall, per Decide DeKalb. The funding was sourced from a subordinate acquisition and construction loan ($752,000), a grant ($528,000), and a forgivable loan ($975,000) meant to support missing-middle homebuyers. The loan for building more attainable homes will be forgiven at the end of a 10-year affordability term—so long as the houses remain owner-occupied, per Decide DeKalb officials. That approach is meant to ensure families have access to quality homeownership opportunities in desirable locations. And the least-expensive options are meant to help first responders, teachers, essential service providers, and other local workforce members achieve homeownership in the area. Find more context in the gallery above. The project’s website, once it launches, will be available here [https://www.cottagesatmidway.com/], with an option for joining an “interest list,” per Johnston.  **…**Follow us on social media:Twitter [https://twitter.com/UrbanizeATL] / Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/UrbanizeATL]/and now: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/urbanizeatlanta_/]  • Decatur news, discussion [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/neighborhood/decatur] (Urbanize Atlanta)Tags2893 Midway Road [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/2893-midway-road]Cottages at Midway [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/cottages-midway]Decide DeKalb Development Authority [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decide-dekalb-development-authority]Decide DeKalb [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decide-dekalb]MicroLife Institute [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/microlife-institute]Housing Development Corporation of DeKalb [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/housing-development-corporation-dekalb]Alair Homes [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/alair-homes]Urban Renewal Fund [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/urban-renewal-fund]Lorraine Cochran-Johnson [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/lorraine-cochran-johnson]Affordable Cottages [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/affordable-cottages]Cottage Court Ordinance [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/cottage-court-ordinance]Affordability [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/affordability-0]Decatur Affordable Housing [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decatur-affordable-housing]Affordable Housing [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/affordable-housing-0]Single-Family Homes [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/single-family-homes]Tiny Homes [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/tiny-homes-0]Atlanta Homes for Sale [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/atlanta-homes-sale]Decatur News [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decatur-news]Decatur Housing [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decatur-housing]Decatur Homes for Sale [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decatur-homes-sale]Spirit and Truth Sanctuary church [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/spirit-and-truth-sanctuary-church]Belvedere Plaza [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/belvedere-plaza]Memorial Drive [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/memorial-drive]Columbia Drive [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/columbia-drive]Pocket Neighborhood [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/pocket-neighborhood]Pocket Neighborhoods [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/pocket-neighborhoods]Missing Middle [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/missing-middle]Missing Middle Housing [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/missing-middle-housing]Decatur Home Construction [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/decatur-home-construction]For Sale in Decatur [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/tags/sale-decatur]Imagesalt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%20map.png?itok=erIxXsxp]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%20map.png?itok=jQ6ALS7KThe single-family home project’s location at 2883 and 2893 Midway Road, tucked off Columbia Drive. Google Mapsalt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%20map%202.png?itok=7E4R37YD]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%20map%202.png?itok=t33x-mw6Overview of the Cottages at Midway property in relation to the large Belvedere Plaza shopping center, where Kroger has closed its anchor Belvedere Citi-Center location. Google Mapsalt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%205.png?itok=-H7cUoQh]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%205.png?itok=skD_tf8cThe Cottages at Midway project site (at right) in relation to Spirit and Truth Sanctuary church next door. Google Mapsalt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%203.png?itok=-rNQY6z1]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%203.png?itok=h3xoAU_3Cottages at Midway; courtesy of MicroLife Institutealt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%201.png?itok=Milr-IXg]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%201.png?itok=LyX1DGBJCottages at Midway; courtesy of MicroLife Institutealt [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/950w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%202.png?itok=0UNwcsC-]https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/1140w/public/2025-09/Cottages%20at%20Midway%202.png?itok=9RbmMdMrCottages at Midway; courtesy of MicroLife InstituteSubtitleDeveloper: Cottages at Midway targets "‘missing middle’ sweet spot between single-family and multifamily"NeighborhoodDecatur [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/neighborhood/decatur]Background ImageImageA rendering of a large village of standalone homes under blue skies with a large green courtyard in the middle and porch, with people on bikes and a shopping center nearby. [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/480x270/public/background/2026-03/Cottages%20at%20Midway%201.png?itok=Ic55ZAvX]Associated ProjectCottages at Midway [https://atlanta.urbanize.city/project/cottages-midway]Before/After ImagesSponsored PostOff #Atlanta #UrbanizeAtlanta #theATLBot