The story of the Gwinnett Housing Corporation (GHC) begins in 1950 with the Housing Authority of the City of Lawrenceville (LHA) and the Housing Act of 1937. LHA, the largest of Gwinnett’s three housing authorities, was established for the purpose of providing decent, safe and sanitary housing to the low-income citizens of Lawrenceville and the surrounding areas. However, LHA recognized that the community needs were greater than what the organization provided.

In 1996, LHA created a nonprofit entity, Gwinnett Housing Corporation (GHC), to do what a housing authority could not. GHC encompasses the entire county’s jurisdiction and focuses on the development of sustainable housing. Part of its mission is to change the discussion around affordable housing and illustrate through its work what modern affordable housing looks like.

“We are a community-based organization. Our board is local; our employees are local,” said Lejla Prljaca, Executive Director of LHA and GHC. “We don’t just develop housing. When we conceive a project, we look into how it fits into the county and overall community. We would only develop a project that we and the community would be proud of,” she noted.

Initially, the nonprofit’s model was to acquire existing houses, renovate and rent or sell them to community members in need, but the changing market has ushered in a new approach: development.

“We really started the development portion about 10 years ago, and today GHC is the largest nonprofit affordable housing development organization in Gwinnett County,” said Prljaca.

To date, GHC has invested $80 million in affordable housing development activity. The most recent project is Thompson Square, which is Gwinnett’s first public housing redevelopment project completed in 2020. These 36 apartments not only house community members and families in need but also began a precedent for sustainability in affordable housing through the inclusion of green spaces, energy-efficient appliances and materials resilient to climate change.

According to Prljaca, GHC intends to increase efforts to make its future developments even more sustainable. Currently, GHC is creating a community development plan in partnership with the Southeast Energy Alliance (SEEA) to increase the amount of sustainable affordable housing in unincorporated Norcross. You can read more about their plan here.

GHC and Gateway85

According to Prljaca, Gateway85 CID was the first CID to participate in supporting GHC. This relationship continues today.

Recently, GHC partnered with RudHil Companies, a Gateway85 CID member, for a bilingual housing expo that educated the public about affordable housing and introduced families in need to the resources available to them. According to Prljaca, this will become an annual event.

Regarding Gateway85’s efforts, Prljaca is particularly interested in initiatives related to increasing public transportation and accessibility.

“Forty percent of the jobs in Gwinnett County do not pay a living wage,” said Prljaca. “And when you take into account the need for gas, insurance and car maintenance, the cost of living really goes up, especially for those in the service industry or the retail industry. Access to reliable mass transit is crucial for some of these household breadwinners to get to work, but also to exit some of these subsidized housing plans and create more self-sufficiency.”

In addition to affordable rental units, the organization includes programs to support families on the path to homeownership or sustainable living. They also offer programs on financial education, book drives and school supply drives.

GHC has other projects underway, including two sites in unincorporated Loganville and unincorporated Lawrenceville. Future plans indicate GHC may have plans for another redevelopment in Gateway85 CID.

Support and assistance for needs not directly related to housing were and are in high demand when Covid hit - as underserved working parents often did not have the flexibility to care for their children since they had to work during the day.

“On the nonprofit side, we really wanted to join with other organizations and nonprofits to be the solution to the unprecedented and troubling housing insecurity that threatened our community,” said Prljaca. “Multiple churches, Impact46, and GHC came together to address the food insecurity and that escalated to addressing housing insecurity.”

This desire for a solution crystallized in the creation of the Lawrenceville Response Center, which is operated by Impact46. GHC raised approximately $300,000 for the response center.

“I think it’s always important to look at these tragedies and events…as a window of opportunity…we wanted to take advantage of the [American Rescue Plan and State and Local Fiscal Recovery Plan] funding, and also raise awareness on how precarious housing situations are for a lot of families in Gwinnett County.”

When asked about GHC’s greatest needs and how Gateway85 can best support the organization, Prljaca gave two answers: affordable land with access to sewer and flexibility in the cost of materials and construction.

To learn more about Gwinnett Housing Corporation and get involved, visit their website here.

To learn more about The Housing Authority of the City of Lawrenceville and its programs, visit their website here.