QuestCDC Hosts Second Atlanta EDI Cohort at the Quest Westside Impact Center

Capital Impact Partners' program for emerging real estate developers brings training, mentorship, and financing pathways to Atlanta's Westside

ATLANTA, GA – QuestCDC was proud to welcome the second Atlanta cohort of Capital Impact Partners' Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) to the Quest Westside Impact Center for a cohort meeting. EDI helps emerging real estate developers build the skills, relationships, and capital access needed to bring affordable housing and other community-driven projects to life.

The cohort is led by Tommy Lester, Manager of Atlanta Initiatives for Capital Impact Partners.

A program built to grow local developersCapital Impact Partners launched EDI in Detroit in 2018, and it has since trained more than 250 developers and expanded to several metro areas, including the Washington, D.C. area, the San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas, and Cleveland. Atlanta's first cohort, announced in September 2024, brought together 16 developers from the city and surrounding counties.

EDI participants receive training in funding, project budgeting, site selection, project and contractor management, sustainability, legal services, and community engagement, along with local mentorship, networking, and potential pathways to financing. The curriculum also covers infill housing, missing middle housing, and transit-oriented development, strategies central to meeting Atlanta's housing needs.

Why it matters nowAtlanta's growth has outpaced its supply of affordable homes. More than 800,000 people moved to the region between 2010 and 2020, and home prices in the five-county core have risen 73% since 2017, according to research from the Bipartisan Policy Center and a study by KB Advisory Group and ULI Atlanta. That study also found the region has lost 130,000 units priced below $1,000 a month. Developers who know these neighborhoods and are invested in them are well positioned to help close the gap.

Why the WestsideFor QuestCDC, welcoming the EDI cohort is an extension of its work in affordable housing and community development on Atlanta's Westside. The Quest Westside Impact Center offers a gathering place in the community where many of these developers' projects will take shape. QuestCDC Founder and CEO Leonard Adams also served as a mentor and presenter for the program's first Atlanta cohort. Learn more about EDI: capitalimpact.org/programs/edi

About QuestCDCQuestCDC is an Atlanta-based nonprofit community development corporation focused on affordable housing and community development on Atlanta's Westside.

About Capital Impact PartnersCapital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital family of organizations, is a mission-driven Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that has disbursed more than $3 billion since 1982 to expand access to affordable housing, health care, education, and healthy food. Learn more at capitalimpact.org.