Tenants given 90 days to leave Gwinnett extended stay slated for affordable housing
People in an extended stay hotel are facing displacement after Gwinnett County purchased the property for conversion into affordable housing.
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'It came as quite a surprise to all of us,' said Jim Pettway, who has lived at the Jimmy Carter Boulevard property in Peachtree Corners for two years.
The $13.2 million project will create 73 affordable units primarily for seniors, homeless youth and young adults aging out of foster care. Ironically, these are demographics that include Pettway himself.
'I'm a veteran. I'm 67 years old. I'm on Social Security. I make less than $50,000 a year. That's their mandate,' Pettway told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.
Despite fitting the profile of those the project aims to help, Pettway faces displacement with what he describes as inadequate support.
'I'm kind of upset that we're not being treated a little bit better,' Pettway said.
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The county has offered relocation assistance under federal guidelines, according to a letter given to residents March 6. Additionally, current residents are expected to be eligible to apply to move back in once renovations at 7065 Jimmy Carter Blvd. are done next spring.
'It's a 10-minute drive away to work, so it was very convenient for me,' Pettway said. 'This building was a relatively safe building compared to some of the other places around here.'
The situation affects more than just Pettway.
'There's eight families that live here,' he noted, adding that 'some of these people have been here longer than I have.'
County officials, meanwhile, have touted the project as transformative.
Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson called it 'more than a housing project' after her State of the County address last week.
'It's a win-win for the community,' Hendrickson said last Thursday. 'Now you don't have a property sitting vacant, attracting crime. We can repurpose it into something meaningful.'
The county is investing $7.7 million in the initiative, which aims to address critical housing needs in an area with the highest concentration of extended stay rooms in the nation.
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