The city is using funds through the American Rescue Plan Act to provide six homes for its employees and Marietta School employees.

MARIETTA, Ga. — The City of Marietta is taking historic steps to ensure city and school district workers can live in the same place they work.

City officials presented Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta with $500,000 Wednesday to help launch the Marietta Public Service Housing Program. Marietta city officials said it's trying to help its own workers find housing in an extremely competitive housing market with a first-of-its-kind program. 

“It’s getting harder for our employees to live where they work and there’s a quality-of-life issue with that," Marietta Community Development Manager Kelsey Thomspon-White said. 

Thompson-White said the average cost of homes in the city is $500,000 and the average cost of city and school district employees is $61,000.

"We know that’s hard for anyone to afford that, much less our teachers, firefighters and police officers," she added.

The city is using funds through the American Rescue Plan Act to provide six homes for its employees and Marietta School employees.

The first three homes will be built this year with one along Griggs Street and two others along Frazier Street. Another three homes will be constructed next year with two on Hedges Street and another on Griggs Street.

Officials said applicants must be first-time home buyers, as well as current employees with an income below 80% of the area median income. Homes will be capped at $250,000 and the city will help recipients with a down payment assistance program.

“They’ll be three-bedroom, two-bathroom units. And depending on the lot – we’ll have some two stories and some single ranch style," Thompson-White said.

City leaders said the application process will open next month.