The chief of real estate of Atlanta's public housing authority is leaving the agency amid a challenging budget environment.

Alan Ferguson, the chief housing and real estate officer for Atlanta Housing, is departing from his role Aug. 1, the agency announced Tuesday.

Ferguson joined the agency last June after serving as CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta from 2022 to 2024. Before that, he was an executive with Invest Atlanta for more than eight years.

No reason was given for Ferguson's departure, and an Atlanta Housing spokesperson said he will give more information about his next steps in the near future.

In the press release announcing his departure, AH highlighted Ferguson's accomplishments during his yearlong tenure, including financing a handful of affordable housing developments and overseeing the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The release also says, “his leadership helped stabilize Atlanta Housing’s housing operations during a pivotal period of agency growth.”

“It has been a privilege to serve Atlanta Housing and support the agency’s mission to create strong communities and expand access to affordable housing,” Ferguson said in a statement. “I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together, and I am confident AH will continue delivering results for the people of Atlanta.”

Maya Hodari, the authority's senior vice president of real estate, will serve as interim CHREO starting next month. It will be her task to navigate an agency under pressure from a shrinking budget that is funded almost exclusively by the federal government.

Atlanta Housing reduced its planned spending for this year by nearly $81M in the budget it passed last month, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It made those reductions because it anticipates receiving less funding this coming year from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which requested a more than 40% budget reduction during the congressional appropriations process.

Last week, AH sent a letter to landlords who accept HCVP funding, better known as Section 8 vouchers, warning them that the agency won't process requests for rent increases because of reduced federal funding, Axios reported. Ferguson signed the letter, which indicates that roughly 20% of Atlanta multifamily housing is supported by AH funding.

Atlanta Housing spokesperson Carolyn Smith said the letter to landlords wasn't a factor in Ferguson's departure.