Triangle nonprofit buys six acres in east Raleigh to build affordable apartments
A 5.9 acre parcel of land in east Raleigh has been purchased by CASA, a Triangle nonprofit housing provider, with the intention of building at least 60 affordable apartment units.
The property is near I-440 at the edge of the Beltline, on Sunnybrook Road just south of the WakeMed hospital complex. The sale of the property was close to $1.1 million and Wake County records list the assessed value as nearly $1.7 million.
Specific plans and designs will be held off until next year during consulting with funding partners, said Jess Brandes, CASA’s senior director of real estate development.
CASA focuses its work on providing housing to low-income and at-risk families and individuals, particularly those who experience homelessness and live with disabilities.
“We have strong partnerships with organizations working around homelessness,” said Brandes. “This is crucial not only to identifying people who would need the housing but that people could have support and services once they move in to be able to maintain their housing successfully long term.”
CASA has an applicant pool of eligible families who are looking for housing. The apartment prices are targeted toward tenants making under 30% of the area median income, or less than $20,000 a year. Rents can range from around 30% of a tenant’s income, or $200 or less per month.
“As we’re having these conversations with our partners, we’re focused on where all the needs are and the need really drives the type of apartments we’re developing,” Brandes said. “We’ll have a community there that serves a spectrum of family sizes.”
CASA hopes to begin the design phase next year and to be in construction by early 2021. The site may be developed in phases, depending on funding.
For 27 years, CASA has been addressing homelessness through housing, building multi-family apartments in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
In March, the Durham City Council approved a rezoning request for CASA to build housing for 65 families and individuals southwest of downtown Durham.
CASA debuted housing in Durham in 2014 with apartments meant for over 80 veterans.
According to figures cited by CASA from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Partnership to End Homelessness, there was a 31% increase from 2015 to 2017 in people who interacted with homelessness services in Wake County.
This story was originally published November 2, 2019 at 6:30 AM.
