Affordable Housing

Home ownership and the legacy of redlining

This is the third in an ongoing series, based on a report by the Urban Institute. The report was compiled with support from Bank of America, ​which partners with the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the Institute for Social Capital on research that provides insight into community initiatives. Join us Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on […]

What made our city so divided? This book traces the roots

The new release of a classic book about how Charlotte became so divided sheds light on the city’s enduring inequalities, and why those disparities are far from accidental. Whether you have more time on your hands without a daily commute or you’re looking for something to read that’s not about the novel coronavirus, UNC Press’s […]

Three ways to address affordable housing beyond subsidies

Charlotte is in the midst of a major affordable housing crunch, and though the city has substantially increased its subsidies for building leaders acknowledge there’s no way to fund the tens of thousands of units we’d need to meet demand. The city’s Housing Trust Fund bonds have been increased from $15 million to $50 million […]

Can we build our way out of the housing affordability crisis?

There’s a growing consensus that if we want to get out of the housing affordability mess we’re in, we need to hear a lot more swinging hammers. While local governments, including in Charlotte, have raised more money to subsidize affordable apartments and low-income rent payments, the scale of the problem is daunting. Mecklenburg County is […]

Nonprofit charts a new course for troubled South End development

A new, mixed-income housing development is set to take the place of a long-troubled, low-income housing complex in South End. Brookhill Village is a paradox: An oasis of affordability in the midst of a booming and fast-gentrifying part of the city, but full of run-down units, many of them boarded up and visibly decaying from […]

A Brief HunterWood history lession

HunterWood and several surrounding neighborhoods were carved from 200 acres once owned by the Hunter family, whose homestead still stands on Charlotte’s Sardis Road. The Rev. John Hunter, installed as the minister at nearby Sardis Presbyterian Church in 1859, began assembling the property during the Civil War in the 1860s and lived there until he […]

Accepting change when you can’t stop it in a “tear-down” neighborhood

This is the second part in a two-part series. Read the first story here

Charlotte has 56 “tear-down” neighborhoods: Here’s a portrait of one

This is the first part in a two-part series. Read the second story here

What’s on our city’s wish list? See some gifts for Charlotte

It’s hard shopping for the city that has it all: Gleaming office towers, a new-ish light rail line, a booming population and one of the world’s busiest airports. But that doesn’t mean Charlotte couldn’t still use a few gifts this holiday season. After all, despite the city’s obvious and explosive growth, there are still plenty […]

Single-family construction once dominated Mecklenburg, but that’s changed

At 500 West Trade Street in uptown Charlotte, another luxury apartment building is under construction. The 350-unit complex, developed by Northwood Ravin, sits on the site of the now demolished James K. Polk building. The Polk building was built by C.C. Coddington in 1925 to serve as a Buick dealership, and for a time housed […]