Carrboro tenants organize to demand CASA fix their housing, condemned apartments

Steve Furman joined his neighbors outside their downtown Carrboro apartment building Wednesday to demand better housing conditions and management from their nonprofit landlord.

Furman, 68, moved into the low-income Club Nova Apartments at 103 W. Main St. in 2006, shortly after it opened. He already knew some of the residents and didn’t need a car to get around. It helped him from becoming isolated due to his social anxieties, he said.

His federal Housing Choice, or Section 8, voucher covered about 70% of the now-$1,100 monthly rent.

But in August, his nonprofit landlord Community Alternatives for Supportive Abodes (CASA NC) condemned his roughly 400-square-foot studio apartment when mold grew from a leaky air-conditioner unit that needed to be replaced. At the same time, a neighbor’s floor caved in to the occupied apartment below.

Furman stayed with a friend before moving into a CASA-paid hotel room. He left when he couldn’t reach CASA about paying for more nights and spent five more months at a friend’s house before Triangle Tenants Union helped him advocate for a new Club Nova apartment.

Now, he’s helping neighbors launch the Club Nova Tenants’ Association to negotiate with CASA for improved living conditions and management.

Four of the building’s 24 apartments remain vacant, and three of those are condemned, he said, and tenants can’t reach anyone at CASA, even in emergencies.

“People in my situation, there’s not really any affordable housing anymore,” Furman said. “ I went to these apartments, and some of these apartments were so nasty, man. I was like, I’d rather live with a group of mongrel dogs in the woods than live here.”

Inspection reports show serious problems

The three-story, brick Club Nova Apartments was built in 2003 by the OPC Foundation (now part of Alliance Health) to help low-income people with mental illness live independently. It’s located behind the nonprofit Club Nova clubhouse for adults with severe mental illness. Some CASA tenants are members of Club Nova, but the entities are not affiliated.

County records show Raleigh-based CASA bought the property for $749,500 in 2011, when OPC was initially absorbed into Cardinal Innovations.

There have been maintenance problems before, from bed bugs to general disrepair, but it’s gotten worse, residents said. CASA staff has also lost or misplaced their annual paperwork and rent payments, they said, holding them responsible for missed deadlines. The News & Observer could not independently verify those complaints.

But publicly available inspection reports back up concerns about living conditions. Orange County is required to conduct annual inspections of its Section 8 voucher units. The other units fall under Carrboro’s jurisdiction, and typically are inspected only when there is a complaint or something happens.

Condemnation is one of a town’s toughest tools for dealing with housing safety issues, short of getting a court order, or doing the repairs or demolishing the building and recouping costs from the owner.

The county and town reports show:

• May 21, 2025: An apartment was condemned after a floor partly collapsed inside an occupied apartment. Firefighters helped the resident exit safely, and they moved to another unit. Repairs are still pending.
• August 17, 2025: Drywall fell from the ceiling of an apartment, and town staff found “significant moisture intrusion and deteriorating building conditions.” Four residents were taken to a hotel.
• August 18, 2025: The town’s building inspector and fire marshal inspected 23 other apartments, finding “organic growth” in multiple units. Three were condemned “due to potential structural concerns.” CASA got Notices of Violation requiring repairs to meet minimum housing standards.
• Sept. 15, 2025: Six of 14 Section 8 units failed the annual county inspection. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rent payments were suspended, and CASA was ordered to repair damaged sheetrock, mold and water stains on walls and ceilings, air-conditioners, a loose toilet and other minor issues.
• Oct. 29, 2025: Local housing directors met with CASA to discuss resident concerns, conditions at Club Nova Apartments, and displaced residents. CASA has 92 affordable housing units in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, and is building another 56 units at Chapel Hill’s new Homestead Gardens community at 2200 Homestead Road.
• December 2025: After a majority of the tenants delivered a petition to CASA’s Raleigh office asking for repairs and action to reopen the condemned apartments, they met with CASA CEO Everett McElveen and other officials. Residents were promised a follow-up meeting that never happened, they said.
• Jan. 20: Two Section 8 units passed re-inspection, and two more Section 8 units were removed from the county’s list after tenants left. There are 13 Section 8 units now, the county reported.

What did CASA say about the claims?

McElveen left in May, and Dana Mangum, a nonprofit professional with experience navigating growth and transition, was named CASA’s interim chief executive officer on June 1.

CASA officials declined interview requests, but sent an email statement to The N&O on Wednesday. In it, the management team said it values “resident feedback and recommendations for improvement, as the safety and well-being of our residents remains our highest priority.”

CASA “has invested significant time and resources into improvements” since 2011 and addressed any problems “as quickly as possible,” they said. Apartments with more serious issues are vacant to make repairs, including three that “have undergone significant updates over the past year, with all three scheduled for completion this month.”

“While we cannot comment on individual resident matters, we follow all applicable laws and established procedures in every case. We remain committed to providing safe, quality housing and serving each resident with dignity and respect,” the statement said.

Heather Nash, who lives next to one of the condemned units, said she’s not buying it.

Besides delaying repairs for years, CASA closed the laundry room, making it harder for tenants without transportation, she said, and two months ago, they taped off the building’s mailbox when the front panel broke, forcing residents to go to the post office — over a mile away — for mail.

“Last year, they tried to evict me because they lost money orders, because they send money orders back and then they say you owe a $15 late fee, which is [expletive] ridiculous. I’ve never seen a company like that before,” Nash said.

“They just need to fold and get the hell out of this town and out of every county here in North Carolina,” she said.

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com.

This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 2:28 PM.

Tammy Grubb

The News & Observer

919-829-8926

Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.