Affordable Housing

[bikwillie]

I know a lot of folks on this forum discuss affordable housing and the need for more of it. You may wish to join the North Carolina Housing Coalition, or at least visit the website and learn more about the Campaign for Housing.

http://www.nchousing.org/

[musial78]

Is anyone concerned with the lack of affordable housing ITB in Raleigh? It seems there are 10-12 projects right now for condo's that range 200+. This is good, as the more money downtown, the better to spend it in the local businesses. On the south and east side of Raleigh, there are affordable housing for the lower class. However, there are a good proportion of middle wage earners that don't fit into the category of either wealthy or poor; who get left out of the area. Those are particularly the liberal arts majors - the teachers, the historians, government works, etc..that give a city a more cultured alternative, not to mention bringing more diversity. It seems the only affordable housing is the rental of rooms in historic houses (of which the landlords are slack to say the least).

Are there any plans to build a cheap alternative to the apartment/condo/townhouse boom that is going on downtown?

Especially with our lack of good mass transit, I think this is critical. In rail/subway cities such as NYC, Chicago, St. Louis; the transit system provides enough mobility so that the middle class can establish their out going communities while still being able to travel downtown. (w/out the hassle of driving and parking).

[RaleighRob]

I totally agree this is a major issue for ITB & downtown Raleigh. The wealthy are moving in and not leaving much room for the rest of us.

I myself have to rent and will probably continue to do so for a while if I want to continue to live in or near downtown. And even then, my options are still pretty darned limited.

I really hate to see this become a city for the wealthy only, leaving us normal middle class joes out of it.

[reed]

This is definitely something that needs to be addressed, but I don't think the situation is unique to Raleigh. I can't think of one vibrant downtown that I've visited that had a wealth of affordable housing.

I'm able to live downtown because I'm married & we have two incomes to pay for the condo. It amazes me to see all of the young, single people that live in our building... in much larger units than us.

[Jones_]

This topic is everpresent on this forum so dig around for more info and some good discussions......fyi, after I win the 240M lottery I am planning on building condos and apartments to meet this need.....120-175k for condos, 750-1000 rent on apartments.

[urbanvb]

The city needs to address the problem and ask the developers to include a precentage of the units to be more affordable in exchange for tax credits, etc. It really is doable if everyone is on board. It seems I read somewhere on the the city website the desire for affordable housing DT though I wonder what plans they have in place (if any) for this to actually happen.

[plus2]

Agreed. Someone could grow up in a modest ITB neighborhood, become a teacher and then be forced to move to the outskirts because they can't afford to live in their own neighborhood. Some of it is unavoidable, but it is a problem and anything people could do to lessen the impact would be good.

[RaleighRob]

I'm able to live downtown because I'm married & we have two incomes to pay for the condo. It amazes me to see all of the young, single people that live in our building... in much larger units than us.

[urbanvb]

Sounds like South Raleigh is in for a boom. This video from WRAL reports 2 huge subdivisions are already going up. In addition the units will start from $100k so will be more affordable plus they are close to DT. Going forward it is expected that half of new housing will be built in this area.

[bikwillie]

Would there be any interest from folks on this board to do a tour of some affordable housing in the downtown area? It could be arranged if there were enough folks to make it worthwhile.

[urbanvb]

Not a bad view.

[RaleighRob]

Would there be any interest from folks on this board to do a tour of some affordable housing in the downtown area? It could be arranged if there were enough folks to make it worthwhile.

[musial78]

I'd kinda be interested in that....or at least maybe someone from the Downtown Alliance can work with us on an inventory or something of all housing options that aren't outrageously expensive (ie, anything less than 900 in rent or less than 150,000 in purchase).

We can call it: "Downtown for the Rest of Us"!

[DPK]

Sign me and a few of my friends up for it. We need new apartments come May.

[ncwebguy]

I've offered this several times, yet only one person took me up on it, and we postponed it till the weather got warmer. It could be a walking or riding tour, depending on how many people are interested.

Here are a few affordable housing projects I know of:

- Prarieview on Wilmington Street near Riveara is full, but I don't know if they have a waiting list.

- Capitol Park may be 100% occupied, but I don't know.

- Carlton Place should be coming on line soon, though no one is living there yet.

- The new Chavis heights is under construction right now. I don't know when those will be available.

To me, the east side of downtown right now is where Five Points/Bickett were about 10-15 years ago. It is an area still in flux, but better than six years ago when I moved there. The St. Augs community development corporation is selling a few houses on/near Haywood street that the city fixed up with CDBG money last year. People who make 40-60% of area medium income can qualify, and there is some down payment/second mortgage assistance available.

The view in that picture is coming down the Wilmingon Street bridge. The housing project to the west and Cargill processing plant to the east keep that area from taking off. Caraleigh and Hertford village are nice, but a bit removed from downtown. The Rennisance project will add a lot of homes, townhouses, etc. but they are near Tryon Road, not really "downtown".

**Moderators** if this the below paragraph is considered an ad, feel free to delete.

If approx $800/month plus utilities for a two or three bedroom (can sacrafice an office/living room area for the third bedroom) is "affordable", send me a message. My neighbors and I are rennovating a house close to downtown in the Martin Street area. We don't know when we'll be done, but hope to be ready by April/May at the lastest.

[RaleighRob]

Here are a few affordable housing projects I know of:

- Prarieview on Wilmington Street near Riveara is full, but I don't know if they have a waiting list.

- Capitol Park may be 100% occupied, but I don't know.

- Carlton Place should be coming on line soon, though no one is living there yet.

- The new Chavis heights is under construction right now. I don't know when those will be available.

[miamiblue]

Would there be any interest from folks on this board to do a tour of some affordable housing in the downtown area? It could be arranged if there were enough folks to make it worthwhile.

[ncwebguy]

I think the original intent of this thread (correct me if I'm wrong, anyone) is that we need more housing that's affordable to the majority of folks. As opposed to the definition of "affordable" that governments usually use, ie, subsidized housing for those in low-income numbers.

[zande]

I know a newly rennovated house for sale for less than most condos, a few blocks east of Moore Square. But no one here is interested in that, so I'll stop bringing it up.

[ncwebguy]

The Martin/Camden Street surge is ongoing after a couple of shootings in the area last year. RPD is conducting a program to get younger criminals off the streets and into normal jobs/lives in the Bragg Street area, and may bring it to Martin Street if it is successful. The lack of *home owner/stake holder* eyes on the street makes it a lot easier for criminals. The first amendment right to freedom of assembly is respected by police. The convenience center is a convenient excuse for people to be walking around the area.

I was and am supportive of St. Augs CDC wanting to make the Martin-Haywood houses available first to area residents. But they have been sitting finished and empty for months now. Anyone who wanted and could afford one would have at least started the paperwork (if not moved in) by now.

St. Augs' "for sale" signs are a joke. They look like a contractor's sign. In small print, it says "for sales information, call #". The words FOR SALE are not on the sign. I hate to hear that phone calls are not being returned, but am not surpised. I might call myself to do an unofficial audit of the process.

I might start to compile a list of properties for sale and rent in the area, but am not sure if I have the time to commit to it yet.

[yankeeblue]

Affordable housing in downtown raleigh should be synonomous with "the future of Raleigh" if it already isn't.

There will only be so much mass transit and revitalization will do for the City, and downtown itself, unless the City finds multiple ways, and fast, to bring middle class and home owners into the fold.

I do not know much about housing and the real nuts and bolts, but enough about everything else to know that without it, we are dead in the water.

Before we even get our swim trunks on.

(seeing as this old thread is back, might as well share my non-sensical opinion right? )

[ChiefJoJo]

WRAL article on new affordable options for DTR, including Carlton Place.

Cocoa Holloway loves city life, but until now, she could not afford to live in downtown Raleigh.

“I just want to be close to my job. There's a lot to do down here,” Holloway said.

The 27-year-old does not have a personal car. With a $28,000 salary, high-priced condo's were out.

Even apartments downtown are pricey. Many 1-bedroom apartments in the downtown area top $800. Then came Carlton Place, just a few blocks from City Market. The city bus driver is paying $550 a month to live with a view.

“It's just giving me more money to do other things other than just paying the bills,” he said.

According to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, about 450 more affordable units will become available in the next three years.

Man, that's so cool that we can have people like that, who actually have jobs that contribute to the community in a real way get a chance to live in DT. That's just what we need more of in this town.

Hmm... do they mean the Chavis Heights Hope VI redevelopment? or is there something else on the horizon?

[ncwebguy]

Mrs. Holloway is the type of tenant Carlton Place was built for. And as the article states, it won't be completely income restricted -- 20% of the units will be market rate with no restrictions. There are about 10 cars on average a night in the Carlton Place parking lot, so it is good to see it filling up. I don't know what percentage of current residents are affordable vs. market rate. There are still no "available" or "coming soon" signs in the retail portion along Davie. I might scout the area to see if there is a bullitin board to post something with the urban planet website on it.

Chavis Heights is under construction, but I don't know if it counts as "downtown". Combining the senior housing and townhouses, I think there was to be at most 200 units there.

There may be affordable housing with few/no restrictions on the block two blocks north of Carlton Place, bound by Hargett, East, Martin, and Bloodworth (mostly) owned by Gordon Smith (Exploris, etc.). They have cut down a few large trees on the block in the last week or two. Surveying has been completed for parcels on which they are moving at least two homes from that block further east -- one lot on the 600 block of Hargett and another on the 300 block of Swain. So I'd guess that some of the 450 units will be part of that.

[tkd720man]

I'm wondering what the economics of building affordable housing are.

Could a developer get a decent return by building one or two 5-10 story buildings filled with condos that go for 150-300K? Nothing fancy - just decent, 1, 2, and maybe 3-bedroom units. Maybe on one of the blocks south and west of the Reynolds tower?

If you built 80 units, with 20 units at 170,000, 20 units at 200,000, 20 units at 250,000, and another 20 units at 300,000, you would bring in 18.4 million.

Is it possible for a developer to build a pair of 5-story buildings and turn a profit on that? It would take deep pockets because the return would not be what you'd get building luxury condos, but it would be guaranteed money because those units would sell in a heart-beat. Is it financially possible?

I ask because I don't know the first thing about building construction and what it costs - but it seems to me that that's the range you would have to aim for if you wanted to build something affordable.

[reed]

I know a newly rennovated house for sale for less than most condos, a few blocks east of Moore Square. But no one here is interested in that, so I'll stop bringing it up.