Melanie Couchman, Sandy Springs Together, on Housing Affordability, School Closures, Employer Retention, and What North Fulton Cities Can Learn (North Fulton Voices, Episode 19)
What happens to a city when the workers who keep it running can no longer afford to live there? Sandy Springs is showing us what happens.
In this episode of North Fulton Voices, Jack Murphy and Nancy Diamond of the North Fulton Improvement Network (NFIN) sit down with Melanie Couchman, co-founder and executive director of Sandy Springs Together, for a frank look at what a decade of housing advocacy in one of metro Atlanta’s most complex cities has actually taught her.
Sandy Springs was largely built out before it incorporated in 2005, inheriting 93 multifamily apartment communities, three MARTA stations, major medical centers, and Fortune 500 employers, all shaped by Fulton County before a local government existed to make its own decisions. Everything that gets built now requires demolition of something else first, and that changes the economics of every project.
The losses are concrete: 15,000 affordable apartment units gone in five years as tax credit agreements expired and rents moved to market rate. One elementary school closed. Enrollment has fallen 11 to 12 percent across Sandy Springs schools over seven years. Employers are reporting real problems recruiting and retaining workers who will not commute an hour each way when they have any other choice.
Melanie walks through where the opportunities are and what is actually blocking progress. Her message to North Fulton cities that still have time to act is direct: the families who leave do not come back.
North Fulton Voices is presented by the North Fulton Improvement Network. The show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- Sandy Springs was built before it had a government to shape it. The city inherited its infrastructure from Fulton County, and everything built next requires demolition first.
- Housing instability shows up in school data first. A 30 percent rate of student mobility and a matching 30 percent rate of teacher mobility were the data points that launched Sandy Springs Together.
- 15,000 affordable units can disappear without a single building coming down. When LIHTC agreements expire and rents move to market rate, the loss is invisible until families are already gone.
- Sandy Springs is the second-largest employment center in metro Atlanta, and its employers are struggling to recruit and retain workers who cannot afford to live nearby.
- The tools for solutions exist. What Melanie argues is missing is intentional leadership at the state and local levels and financial frameworks that make the economics work for developers.
- Delays compound the problem. Sandy Springs first addressed housing in its 2017 comprehensive plan and did not act with enough urgency. The cost of that delay is now measured in closed schools and families who are not coming back.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:00 Introduction and Data Gems: Sandy Springs housing, home values, and aging demographics
03:24 Nancy Diamond introduces Melanie Couchman and Sandy Springs Together
04:02 How Sandy Springs Together got started through education, not housing advocacy
05:37 What Sandy Springs inherited from Fulton County before cityhood in 2005
10:13 Who Sandy Springs Together focuses on and how expiring affordable housing tax credits turned low-cost apartments into market-rate units
11:43 What the early conversation around affordable housing looked like, and why the word was banned
13:48 Promising signs: MARTA transit-oriented development and lot subdivision approvals
16:41 School enrollment decline and the closure of Sandy Springs’ highest-performing elementary school
19:38 15,000 affordable apartments lost in five years and the employer recruitment crisis
24:29 Why the financial framework for redevelopment matters more than housing types
26:10 Where the real opportunities are: retail corridors, office buildings, and condo conversions
28:29 Melanie’s bold idea: intentionality as the missing ingredient
30:42 Myths about affordable housing and what North Fulton cities should learn from Sandy Springs
33:19 How Sandy Springs Together convenes community around the housing crisis
35:08 Melanie’s honest assessment: not optimistic yet, but watching the comp plan process
36:25 Closing calls to action from Nancy Diamond and John Ray
Melanie Couchman, Sandy Springs Together
Melanie Couchman is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sandy Springs Together, a nonprofit she launched in 2019 with her husband David through their philanthropic Couchman Noble Foundation. She came to housing advocacy through education, where student achievement data pointed to a 30 percent mobility rate driven by housing insecurity.
Before founding Sandy Springs Together, she and David co-chaired the City of Sandy Springs North End Revitalization Task Force in 2018, an experience that convinced them that residents most at risk of displacement were not included in the discussions.
Sandy Springs Together convenes residents, employers, faith groups, and civic organizations around attainable housing policy.
North Fulton Improvement Network
The North Fulton Improvement Network (NFIN) is a think tank made up of community leaders from a variety of sectors, focused on missing middle housing and the livability challenges confronting North Fulton. We come from the six cities making up the northern half of Fulton County, Georgia—Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Sandy Springs—and are working to address the widespread yet little-known financial vulnerability across the region. With stakeholders from sectors including business, nonprofit, faith, government, and citizens, we center our work on five areas of impact; seek to educate the public about these issues; build a network of individuals and organizations with innovative private and public solutions; and connect resources to those in need.
The leadership team of NFIN is Jack Murphy, Nancy Diamond, and Kathy Swahn.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
Jack Murphy
Jack Murphy is a volunteer with The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and is Chair of the North Fulton Improvement Network. He is also in his 21st year of working for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
He has served on both the National and Georgia Boards of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, responsible for Diversity, Advocacy, & Systemic Change. Jack is currently the national SVDP chair of Systemic Change and Advocacy.
Jack received a BA in psychology from Belmont Abbey College and an M.Ed. from UNC-Greensboro. Jack and his wife, Nancy, a retired elementary school principal, have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. They live in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Nancy Diamond
Nancy Diamond is a Project Manager with Schmit & Associates, a real estate development firm, creating town center revitalization in communities all around the metro area.
Nancy served 8 years as a Roswell City Council member, including a term as Mayor Pro Tem, with liaison positions with Community Development, Transportation, Recreation & Parks, and Public Safety.
In addition to her work with the North Fulton Improvement Network, Nancy has been active in area non-profit organizations, including board leadership positions in the STAR House Foundation, WellStar North Fulton Hospital, and the Roswell Rotary Club.
A native of Atlanta and a 42-year North Fulton resident, Nancy worked at Turner Broadcasting in the early years of CNN, then became a freelancer in sports television graphics. While raising her two daughters, she worked from home, first developing a corporate gift service and later as a mortgage loan originator.
Nancy and her husband, Glenn, now relish the role of grandparents to Owen.
Sponsor for North Fulton Voices: John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC
The North Fulton Voices show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.
John Ray is a podcast show host and producer and owns North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, the North Fulton (Georgia) affiliate of Business RadioX®.
John also operates his own business advisory practice, Ray Business Advisors. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of the #1 nationally best-selling book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio and The Price and Value Journey. North Fulton Business Radio, the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton region of Georgia, features a wide range of business and community leaders. The Price and Value Journey focuses on solo and small-firm professional services providers, addressing topics like pricing, value, and business development.
