Hotel-to-housing makeover: An extended-stay near RTP is now studio apartments
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- A former extended-stay hotel near RTP now offers 72 renovated studio units.
- Reinvestment Partners capped all rents for residents earning 60% of area median income.
- Hotel conversions address local housing shortages amid rising costs and strong demand.
At 65, Teddy Pugh works nights for a trucking company in Morrisville. Often back just before dawn, he needs housing that’s close, clean and affordable.
After a quick search, he found The Pines, a former extended-stay hotel that officially reopened last week as an apartment complex near Research Triangle Park. Built in 1996, the three-story brick building sits on a 2-acre lot off N.C. 55, offering 72 renovated studio apartments.
Pugh is one of its first residents.
“The main thing is, it’s safe. It’s literally 10 minutes from work,” he told The News & Observer, offering a tour of his freshly painted 420-square-foot home on the building’s ground floor.
“And the price is right,” he said.
Pugh pays $1,065 per month, including utilities. The apartment has a kitchenette and private bathroom, plus access to a courtyard, garden, basketball court and dog park.
“I’m on a single income and got two more years before retirement,” said Pugh, who recently moved from Texas to be near his son and first grandchild. “This helps a lot.”
A rising trend
Hotel-to-affordable housing conversions are gaining traction in the Triangle and nationally as rising costs for construction and labor feed a growing affordability crisisaccording to a recent National Association of Realtors study.
In 2022, Durham-based nonprofit Reinvestment Partners purchased the old Extended Stay America at 2504 N.C. 54. They paid $5 million, mostly financed using a bridge loan from the Durham Affordable Housing Loan Fund.
A year later, despite some public opposition, they secured a rezoning and put in new floors and laundry facilities.
In exchange, they promised to reserve half the units, by deed restrictions, for individuals (or families with two adults and a young child) earning 60% of the area median income. In nearby Morrisville, that would be around $55,680.
By the nonprofit’s choice, the remaining units are also capped by the same percentage to target “workforce housing,” said CEO Peter Skillern.
That’s households earning too much to qualify for housing subsidies, but not enough to comfortably afford market-rate housing where they work.
Demand is strong, he added. “We currently have 25 of the 72 units filled. We’re looking to complete lease-up [later this year].”
NuLeaf Properties, a subsidiary property management firm, manages the property.
Apartments range from 313 to 420 square feet. Monthly rents are $950 to $1,100, including utilities.
Tim Gabel, chief executive and president of RTI International, works around the corner and attended the building’s grand opening on Thursday. This type of housing is critical to attract workers to the area, he said.
“People need to be able to afford to live where they work,” he said. “And it takes all types to thrive and be a hub of innovation and great research.”
Separately, REALM, a Nashville-based investment group, partnered with Vivo Investment Group to turn three Extended Stay America hotels into affordable housing, WRAL reported. One is in Raleigh and two are in Durham.
This story was originally published August 2, 2025 at 7:30 AM.
