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About AHA

The Early Days

The Auburn Housing Authority (AHA) was established in 1949 as a result of the concern of many citizens living in substandard housing. Officially incorporated by the Secretary of State on October 19, 1949, the AHA immediately set out on its goal of improving the living conditions for low-income families. In 1950, AHA Board of Commissioners approved the construction of two apartment properties. Fourteen units were built off Dean Road (next to what is now the Auburn Parks & Recreation Department) at a cost of $136,000 and were named East Park Apartments. An additional 61 units were built at a cost of $618,000 of Highway 14 (formerly called Loachapoka Road). These apartments, called Moton Apartments, were named after Robert R. Moton who was the second president of Tuskegee Institute. Shortly after the completion of the first two properties, the Board of Commissioners approved the construction of 16 more units at East Park Apartments and added 34 units at a property known as Drake Apartments, which are named after Auburn native and former president of Alabama A&M University, J. F. Drake. These units were constructed between 1957 and 1959.

1970 - 2011

The increased need for more affordable housing in Auburn led the AHA to develop and construct 3 more sites during the 70's and 80's. In 1971, the Board of Commissioners approved the construction of 101 units on North Donahue Drive. This development, named Ridgecrest Apartments, would be the largest site in terms of apartments as well as land. It would come to house the administrative offices as well as the Auburn Day Care Center's Ridgecrest site. During the same time period, a 15 unit site was built closer to the center of Auburn and was intended to be used as housing for the elderly. This development, named Porter Apartments, offered several efficiency and 1 bedroom apartments as well as a community center. In 1982, the AHA built its last development near the Auburn Mall, named Sparkman Apartments.  This development consists of 31 units as well as a community center. At the time of its completion, Sparkman Apartments brought the total number of affordable rental units to 322.

AHA renovated the Moton Apartments in 2011. Due to high density, 18 units were demolished which resulted in 304 affordable rental units. See the History of Moton Apartments in the resources tab. 

Current Conditions

AHA manages 304 affordable housing units in Auburn and is authorized to administer 280 tenant-based vouchers (formerly known as Section 8) and 18 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers.  AHA also manages 102 units for the Lafayette Housing Authority (LHA) located in Lafayette, AL and 50 units for the Roanoke Housing Authority (RHA) located in Roanoke, AL.

RAD Conversion

On October 1, 2015, AHA and LHA converted its public housing units to project-based vouchers (PBV) units as part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program.