Thomaston’s housing market was under pressure from multiple directions. While the city was experiencing renewed economic activity and population growth, its housing stock had not kept pace. A majority-renter population, aging homes, and rising costs created a mismatch between what residents could afford and what was available–especially for working households.

The study found that limited rental housing options were creating workforce challenges across the community. As demand for quality housing outpaced available inventory, employers—especially in healthcare and government—struggled to attract and retain middle-income workers who often faced long commutes due to a lack of housing near major employment centers.

Behind these pressures was a deeper structural issue. nearly all multifamily housing in Thomaston was subsidized, leaving a significant gap in market-rate options. Young professionals and middle income households had few choices, limiting their ability to stay and invest in the community.

The Georgia Tech Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR) partnered with the City of Thomaston to bring clarity to these dynamics. The goal was not just to document housing needs, but to connect housing strategy directly to economic development outcomes, ensuring the city could attract residents, support employers, and revitalize its neighborhoods.

The resulting assessment combined rigorous market analysis, stakeholder engagement, and implementation planning to deliver a path forward that would be rooted in both data and local context.

CEDR’s approach was designed to provide a decision-making framework grounded in market reality and community priorities.

The team analyzed housing supply and demand, income patterns, and development constraints while engaging residents, local leaders, and developers to understand barriers from multiple perspectives. This was paired with a review of previous plans and targeted technical partnerships to ensure recommendations were both practical and actionable.

Key insights included:

• Severe mismatch between income and housing options, particularly for renters and entry-level workers
• Critical shortage of market-rate multifamily housing, with only a small fraction of units meeting this need
• Aging and declining housing stock, limiting both quality and availability
  Untapped demand from working-age residents, especially those positioned to transition into homeownership

Taken together, the analysis revealed a clear shift: Thomaston’s challenge was no longer just affordability. The community needed alignment between housing supply, workforce demand, and long-term growth.

The assessment equipped city leadership with a set of actionable strategies that directly support economic development and housing delivery.

• Defined a path to transition the city into an active development partner, reducing risk for private investment
• Identified opportunities to unlock new housing types through zoning reform and pre-approved plans
• Established a framework to attract market-rate multifamily development for the first time in decades
• Enabled targeted partnerships with major employers to align housing with workforce needs
• Provided tools to redevelop vacant, underutilized, and historic sites, including catalytic mill properties

The result is a clear, implementable roadmap that moves Thomaston from reactive planning to proactive housing strategies supporting both residents and employers.

For communities like Thomaston, housing is not just a quality-of-life issue, it is a core economic development driver. When housing options do not match local incomes or workforce needs, the impact shows up in longer commutes, missed job opportunities, and slowed investment.

This project reframed housing as infrastructure for growth. By identifying where the market was failing, and why, CEDR helped Thomaston target interventions that go beyond affordability to address supply, quality, and development feasibility.

The implications are long-term: Expanding housing options for young families supports population stability. Introducing market-rate housing helps retain skilled workers. Redeveloping historic sites reconnects investment with community identity.

Most importantly, the work positions Thomaston to compete for growth without losing its character, using housing as a tool to strength both its economy and its neighborhoods.