Athens City Council on Monday in committee discussed at length amending the terms of 2020 legislation that entered the city into an agreement with a private developer to construct single-family townhouses inside the University Estates subdivision.
Councilmember Sarah Grace revealed that because of pandemic-related supply constraints on building materials, the cost of construction has skyrocketed and the developer can no longer afford to build and sell homes at the originally agreed upon price. The developer, Albany-based Cornerstone Home Builders, asked the city to approve a $20,000 increase in the sale price of each townhome, totaling $240,000 per unit, Grace said.
âIf we want this development to go forward, we need to give them the flexibility to do this. Because if they are unable to build it and then sell the units at a price that keeps them in the black as a business, then (the townhouses) simply wonât be built,â she said.