Delayed Downtown Atlanta Tower for Teachers Faces More Setbacks

The 31-story Teachers Village development has been pushed back again, with no clear timeline for groundbreaking.

Published on Mar. 11, 2026

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Five years after it was first proposed, a downtown Atlanta high-rise project called Teachers Village, which is meant to provide workforce housing and retail for Georgia educators, is facing further delays. The 457,500-square-foot tower, which was initially slated to break ground in 2024 and then again in October 2025, is now expected to start construction in the first quarter of 2026, though even that timeline is uncertain. Developers cite the project's complexity and innovative financing structure as reasons for the delays.

Why it matters

The Teachers Village project is seen as a unique and much-needed solution to provide affordable housing options for teachers and other school employees in downtown Atlanta. Delays in the project could exacerbate the city's shortage of workforce housing and make it more difficult to attract and retain educators.

The details

The 31-story Teachers Village development is planned to include 424 apartments, with none of them rented at market rate. The bulk of the units, 227, will be reserved for independent senior living, while the remaining 197 will be considered workforce housing. Ten percent of the units, or 23 homes, will be earmarked for renters making no more than 80% of the area median income, with the rest rented at below 120% AMI. The project will also include 23,000 square feet of retail space.

  • The project was initially proposed in 2021.
  • A previous timeline called for the project to break ground in 2024.
  • Another targeted groundbreaking date of October 20, 2025 was missed.
  • The latest timeline calls for the project to break ground in the first quarter of 2026, which ends in less than three weeks.

The players

RBH Group

The New Jersey-based developer behind the Teachers Village project.

Invest Atlanta

The city's economic development authority, which approved a $4 million Tax Allocation District grant and $26 million in tax-exempt bond financing to support the Teachers Village construction.

S9 Architecture

The architecture firm designing the Teachers Village tower.

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What they’re saying

“The development is both innovative and truly the first of its kind. As such, several components of the project are actively in process. We are proceeding to obtain all the necessary permits and working to finalize the Guaranteed Maximum Price, or GMP. The project's innovative bond financing structure also requires additional coordination and timing.”

— Lonnie Soury, Spokesperson, RBH Group (Urbanize Atlanta)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

The continued delays in the Teachers Village project highlight the challenges of developing innovative, affordable housing solutions in downtown Atlanta, even with public funding support. The success of this project will be crucial in addressing the city's shortage of workforce housing and retaining educators.