Charlotte Affordable Housing Property Underway
Developed by the NRP Group, Platform Lofts is one of the first affordable housing communities located on a new extension of the city's light-rail system.
Platform Lofts. Image courtesy of the NRP Group
The NRP Group has started building Platform Lofts, a 198-unit affordable housing community spread out over six residential buildings, in Charlotte, N.C., situated on the new light-rail extension on the Blue Line.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch provided equity financing for the development, which will be reserved for those making 60 percent or less of the area median income. The bank provided $25 million in loans and a direct LIHTC equity investment of $13.2 million.
“The City of Charlotte is committed to partnering with developers like NRP to provide affordable housing for our citizens,” Pamela J. Wideman, the City of Charlotte’s director of housing and neighborhoods, said in prepared remarks. “The ability to have quality affordable housing in close proximity to the Blue Line extension and other transit options is a prime example of how lower income families can have access to affordable housing in areas that provide upward economic mobility opportunities.”
Once built, the community will mark The NRP Group’s third development in the Charlotte area, joining Loft 135, built in 2016 as an upscale market-rate apartment community on the south end of the city, and The Parkwood, set to be ready for occupancy this fall.
Scheduled for completion in 2020, Platform Lofts will offer two-, three- and four-bedroom units boasting amenities such as a medical exam room, two covered picnic areas and a multipurpose community room.
Need for Affordable Housing
According to data by Affordable Housing Online, there are approximately 191 low-income housing apartment communities in Charlotte, which contain 14,308 affordable rental apartments. The need is much more.
“We’ve been acutely aware that the city of Charlotte has a great need for affordable housing at a mix of income levels, so we are thrilled at the prospect of participating in the opportunity to supply this type of housing,” Aaron Pechota, The NRP Group’s senior vice president, said in a srarement. “The effort to bring affordable housing to this site, at this long-awaited transit line, was years in the making and should bear fruit soon.”
Platform Lofts is situated directly across from Old Concord Station, part of the LYNX Blue Line Light Rail extension, and less than a mile from the Eastway Rec Center. Another feature of the community is that public access streets will run through it, as well as offering direct pedestrian access to the Cross Charlotte Trail.
In April, the NRP Group sold Magnolia Pointe Apartments, a 266-unit, partially affordable community in Durham, N.C., to Fairfield Residential for $26.5 million.
