Project Description
W&A Engineering’s partnership with Athens Area Habitat has extended far beyond collaborating through our Charity of Choice program. For months, we’ve been working closely with the organization to design a transformative neighborhood in Athens, GA that will create an economic foothold of home ownership, provide stability for local families, create a model for projects all across the country, and much more.
Currently in the conceptual phase, Micah’s Creek will be designed with people, nature, and progeny in mind. The neighborhood will preserve tree canopy, cultivates an attractive viewshed for adjoining homes, minimizes evaporation from the creek and planned retention ponds, and conserves pathways for wildlife around the development. These highly efficient homes will simultaneously reduce resources needed to construct and maintain the houses while lowering monthly bills for homeowners. A planned partnership with the University of Georgia to measure outcomes for residents, especially schoolchildren, will enable the project to serve as a model for similar developments nationwide.
Recent studies from Georgia Institute of Technology and Kennesaw State University have shown that children living in a home which their family owns perform better in school, maintain improved family relationships, showcase better physical and mental health, and are better equipped for higher-earning careers than children living in rented homes. The same study has also shown that families living in Habitat-built homes are able to save money for the future and reduce or remove their need for public assistance. Micah’s Creek will provide the steppingstone for measuring this impact in Athens, Georgia and allow stakeholders to collect real-world evidence on the link between homeownership and social change.
Location
Athens, Georgia
Services Provided
- Due Diligence
- Planning
- Land Surveying
- Civil Engineering
- Landscape Architecture
- Program Management
- Construction Administration
- Discipline Coordination