Affordable Senior Housing Coming to Charlotte

By Keith Loria

Charlotte, N.C.—Laurel Street Residential has broken ground on an affordable senior and multifamily housing development in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C.

Rendering of Allen Street development in Charlotte

The development serves as the residential component of the envisioned master plan prepared by St. Paul Baptist Church to expand affordable housing in the Belmont neighborhood.

“The Allen Street development will offer an attractive, affordable housing option for seniors and families in the rapidly redeveloping Belmont neighborhood of Charlotte, which is located less than two miles from Uptown,” Dionne Nelson, Laurel Street Residential’s principal, told MHN. “The property will also be located close to a future light-rail stop, providing residents with easy access to mass transit.”

Located at 1322 Allen St., the 112-unit affordable community will comprise a 60-unit senior housing building, 29 townhome-style family units and a 23-unit garden-style apartment building. The community’s amenities will include outdoor sitting areas, a playground, computer center, community room and a covered picnic area that all residents will be able to enjoy. The senior amenities will include a community room as well as fitness center, multi-purpose room, covered patios and garden plots.

“Laurel Street Residential is a boutique mixed-income housing development company that is committed to building high-quality communities for working families and seniors that will endure through the years as quality places to live,” Nelson said. “But what sets us apart is how we listen to each community about its needs and creatively customize the solution and design to each neighborhood.”

The units are designated for seniors and families living at 60 percent of the Area Medium Income (AMI) and below for their appropriate household size.

The architecture is intended to reflect both the architecture of St. Paul Baptist Church and the old craftsman style found throughout the Belmont area. The church has been located on Allen Street since they were displaced in 1969 during the Brooklyn neighborhood urban renewal initiative.

According to Nelson, the Allen Street development will address the need for affordable housing in Belmont while also respecting the density, character and architecture of the surrounding neighborhood, ensuring that the project will add long-term value to the community.

The development is being financed by public and private investments including a 4 percent tax credit and tax exempt bond allocation from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, an approximately $4.4 million loan from the City of Charlotte Housing Trust Fund, an $8 million construction loan from Bank of America, permanent financing from Greystone, as well as loans from the Zechariah Alexander Community Development Corp. and St. Paul Baptist Church.

“Located near the desirable Plaza Midwood neighborhood, the Allen Street development represents an opportunity to address economic inequality around Charlotte’s urban core and provide high-quality, affordable housing to seniors and working families in a neighborhood that is quickly gentrifying,” Nelson said. “While Charlotte is growing at an explosive pace, it also faces a severe affordable housing shortage, and it is vitally important that we look for development opportunities to address this issue close to our city’s job centers and allow seniors to age in place.”

The development is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017.

Image courtesy of Laurel Street Residential