Catoosa County, Georgia, forming partnership to address workforce housing needs

Staff file photo / Keith Barclift

Catoosa County is working to form a coalition of public, private and nonprofit partners to look at whether a lack of affordable workforce housing is an issue in the county’s housing market.

Last year, the county applied to the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing, a competitive three-year program that helps communities develop housing and economic revitalization strategies.

Catoosa was not selected to participate in the community housing initiative, but the county was one of nine communities chosen to be part of the inaugural TVA Community Innovation Academy and Leveraging Brilliant Ideas + Collaboration to Change Communities Virtual Pitch Event. The nine participating communities were tasked with identifying a problem in their community and coming up with innovative solutions to address that problem in order to create a more sustainable and resilient community, according to a news release.

Catoosa County Economic Development Authority Director Keith Barclift, County Manager Alicia Vaughn and Ringgold City Manager Dan Wright attended the academy, and assessing the need for affordable workforce housing was the issue they chose to address.

“I think there’s a lack of understanding about what’s needed in the housing market and how to address that issue,” Barclift said in a follow-up interview. “We’re looking to satisfy that need in the community, to really understand what types of housing are available and what types of housing need to be available in the future.”