CHARLOTTE, N.C. — City leaders in Charlotte are considering investing in an apartment complex on Scaleybark Road they say is at risk of being bought by private investors, redeveloped, and pricing out current residents.
Charlotte Woods offers lower rent prices than nearby apartments but needs renovations. City housing officials are proposing to invest millions of dollars into the property to upgrade it but keep it affordable.
The plan comes as affordable rent prices are becoming harder and harder to find for many people.
"It's gonna go through the roof and no one's gonna wanna live here anymore," renter Delaney Spring said about Charlotte apartment prices.
Spring lives off Scaleybark Road near South Boulevard and worries surrounding growth will price her out.
"I’m broke, like, I live paycheck to paycheck because of rent, so just keep the cheaper prices," Spring pleaded.
Housing officials hope to keep the cheaper prices at one Scaleybark apartment called Charlotte Woods. It was built in the 1970s and has 266 units of one- and two-bedroom apartments.
"It’s not really worth it for the money but it’s been pretty tough to try to find something better," one Charlotte Woods resident told WCNC Charlotte.
To renovate the complex but keep rent down, the city and county are considering investing $12 million so affordable housing developers can buy it and fix it up.
"This will definitely help us keep people housed and this will help us address [the] affordable housing crisis," Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera said at the May city council meeting where the proposal was presented.
If officials agree to buy Charlotte Woods, it’ll be the ninth property the city has invested in to preserve what it calls "naturally occurring affordable housing," or NOAH.
An example of the city and county investing in a NOAH opportunity to keep rent prices down is the Peppertree Apartments near Plaza Midwood.
"We have seen over [the] last five to six years, hedge funds acquiring these apartments buildings and renovating it, and then raising rents to 200% in certain instances," Ajmera added.
To prevent a scenario like Ajmera described from happening at Charlotte Woods, the public investment would come with a deed to control rent prices based on renters’ income levels for 20 years.
City and county leaders will vote on whether to invest in Charlotte Woods in June.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING COVERAGE
This story is part of ‘I Can’t Afford to Live Here,’ a collaborative reporting project focused on solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Charlotte.
WCNC Charlotte is part of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC), launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Knight Foundation. The CJC strengthens the local news ecosystem and increases opportunities for engagement. It is supported by a combination of local and national grants and sponsorships. For more information, visit charlottejournalism.org.