Newly formed ONE Wake coalition talks housing, Downtown South, with Raleigh leaders
A new coalition of faith groups and nonprofits launched Tuesday night with a push to build and protect affordable housing in Raleigh and Wake County.
Organized Neighbors for Empowerment Wake, or ONE Wake, spoke via a video conference with developer John Kane, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, state Attorney General Josh Stein and Wake County commissioners about housing, evictions and the proposed Downtown South development in south Raleigh.
Among the commissioners who spoke at the meeting were Matt Calabria, Sig Hutchinson and James West.
Over 3,000 viewers tuned in to the video conference, according to organizers.
ONE Wake is based on the Industrial Areas Foundation model, a national community organizing network founded by the late Saul Alinsky, an activist based in Chicago. Durham CAN (Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods) and Orange County Justice United are similar organizations in the Triangle.
Leaders of ONE Wake said they are non-partisan and want to work with any elected official to address issues in Wake County communities.
Downtown South development
The Rev. Jemonde Taylor of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in southeast Raleigh spoke about the Downtown South sports and entertainment project proposed for the church’s neighborhood.
The development headed by Kane’s real estate company Kane Realty was initially proposed in the summer of last year. It is in the rezoning process and being reviewed by Raleigh’s planning commission.
On top of office space, housing, hotels, shops, bars and restaurants, the development would include a soccer stadium for up to 20,000 people. That’s more seating than the PNC Arena, which seats 19,722.
Taylor is concerned about the impact the project could have on the neighborhood’s affordable housing and environment.
“The project seeks substantial public investment, rezoning and a $250 million tax increment financial deal, but as of today, there are no specific community investments in exchange for this public support,” Taylor said.
“ONE Wake and our allies want Downtown South to deliver substantial community benefits that include living wage jobs and training residents, contracting women- and minority-owned companies investment in affordable housing, and youth and mitigations to prevent flooding, gentrification and displacement,” he said.
Kane said he is willing to speak with ONE Wake members about their concerns by the end of October.
“It is my hope that we will establish a consistent and trusted dialogue between us. Especially in the current environment, dialogue is vital to creating the transformative opportunities that our community deserves,” Kane said. “Even in disagreement, we must remain committed to our shared goals until we find solutions we can mutually support. We are really excited to work with you.”
Baldwin said affordable housing will be key to the project’s success.
“When Mr. Kane first talked to me about Downtown South, one of the questions I asked him was about housing affordability. And he said that he would make a commitment to bringing in affordable and workforce housing,” Baldwin said. “That is critical to me to the success of this project.”
Baldwin said the community must get involved to ensure the development benefits everyone.
“It’s not about yelling. It’s about finding solutions and working together. And having that common voice,” Baldwin said. “We have an opportunity here to create one of the greatest redevelopments in the city of Raleigh. We will get there working together, not in anger, but in the spirit of cooperation, and listening.”
Affordable housing
One of the top priorities that ONE Wake listed on Tuesday was the lack of affordable housing in Wake County.
“It dwarfed the other concerns,” said the Rev. Rose Cornelious, development director at Dorcas Ministries in Cary and one of the leaders involved with ONE Wake.
ONE Wake wants the county to provide more affordable housing on public land. It has identified five parcels in Raleigh, Holly Springs, Wendell and Wake Forest that Cornelious said have strong potential.
“We believe we have broken this problem down into winnable issues,” Cornelious said. “These parcels need a champion. ONE Wake calls on candidates for county commissioner to be the chief negotiator with municipal partners for the affordable housing development on each of these parcels.”
All of the commissioners, Hutchinson, Calabria and West, said they would work with ONE Wake.
Hutchinson said Wake County has made strides in recent years to develop more affordable housing, but he agreed more needs to be done.
As of 2019, 24% of families in Wake County spend 30% or more of their income on housing. That’s over 97,000 households, according to the N.C. Housing Coalition.
“It’s important to work with the private sector and developers like John Kane,” Hutchinson said. “I think the Downtown South effort in the Walnut Creek corridor is a wonderful opportunity specifically to target affordable housing, which ONE Wake can be very significant as a partner with that.“
Calabria said he looks forward to working with ONE Wake about the county-owned land. He also said he wanted to address transportation and environmental concerns.
“To consider things like where there’s access to transit and where there isn’t and what the environmental implications would be, and what that means for people’s quality of life,” Calabria said.
West talked about the importance of civic engagement and commended ONE Wake. “I’m just happy to be a part of this initiative, and you can count on me,” West said.
Illegal Evictions
In early September, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enacted a nationwide eviction moratorium. The CDC said landlords could be criminally prosecuted for seeking an eviction during the moratorium for nonpayment of rent.
Cornelious asked Stein if he would seek prosecution of landlords who try to unlawfully evict their tenants.
Stein said the attorney general’s office does not have the authority to do that.
“When individual tenants have issues with their landlord, we can try to mediate a resolution,” Stein said. “People can file a complaint with our office. We can communicate that to the company or the landlord and try to reach some resolution, but we do not have the resources or the authority to represent individual people. That is Legal Aid.”
Cornelious fears a wave of evictions in Wake County if protections lapse. Stein said he has reached out to the State Bar Association to form a partnership to address this issue.
“We fear this wave you spoke of, Dr. Cornelious, that there is going to be a wave of evictions at some point, and we do not want that to happen,” Stein said. “I’m trying to mobilize the entire legal profession to be available to help tenants when they are in financial distress.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 7:00 AM.