GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Greensboro is going through some growing pains. Mayor Nancy Vaughan says the city is trying to keep up with the economic boom. Housing for the workforce is becoming the biggest challenge.
On Thursday, the latest affordable housing development broke ground near the 3,000 block of Yanceyville Road just off Lees Chapel Road. In the next few weeks, the land will be cleared for an 84-unit apartment complex with a goal to start moving people in about one year from now.
“Some folks said, ‘How quickly can we sign up.’ I said, ‘Actually, they have to build the street first and then the apartments,’” said Beth Mckee-Huger, a deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit.
The church sits right next to the new affordable housing apartments. The rent will be based on people’s incomes and will range between $335 and $895 for their one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
Yanceyville Place will cost about $18 million to build.
“This project was in pre-development before the pandemic, and then with costs rising after COVID hit, the project became unviable because you can’t just raise rents on low-income renters,” said Bobby Funk, the development director at Mills Construction.
Mills Construction relied on COVID relief funds, tax credits and various other loans to make the project possible.
“It is really needed. We have cases of people who are being almost made homeless because of the rise in rent,” said Dr. Goldie Wells, who represents that area of town on the Greensboro City Council.
However, the problem of rent going up is something happening all across the city.
“I think it is something we are going to see for a while, and the legislature does not allow municipalities to do any sort of rent control, so we really just have to work with it,” Vaughan said.
She says affordable housing is critical to keep pushing Greensboro forward.
“Years ago, we were praying for this type of economic development, and now it is here,” Vaughan said.
The challenge is getting enough new housing to keep up with all the new jobs created.
“It is a good place to be, and we just have to keep moving along,” Vaughan said.
The new apartments will start to have applications open up in the coming months on the Mills Construction website.
If you miss out on Yanceyville Place, city council members tell FOX8 that there are similar projects in the works that we will hear more about soon.
