‘It is a crisis.’ As Triangle home prices soar, Cary considers affordable housing project

A proposed affordable housing project in Cary has received general support from the Town Council and some residents but also has drawn some criticism from residents concerned about its traffic and environmental effects.

The Town of Cary has partnered with Laurel Street Residential to propose a mixed-income apartment building on 921 SE Maynard Road with 130 units. Half of the units would be reserved for those making a maximum of 80% of the area median income (AMI).

“We’re intentionally proposing mixed-income housing because it reflects the organic demographics of our community,” said Morgan Mansa, intergovernmental affairs liaison for Cary. “The affordability at this site is critical because we all know that developments like Fenton, the future redevelopment of South Hills and the location of Epic Games will require more qualified workers to live in our community.”

This month, council members heard from residents at a public hearing for a request to rezone roughly 7 acres of town-owned property from residential to mixed-use district.

While many said they supported the concept of affordable housing, they voiced concerns about increased traffic in the area, the height of the building, the size of stream buffers and how it might affect the environment.

The proposed building will stand at a minimum of three stories and a maximum of 65 feet and four stories, said Heather Whelehan, senior housing planner for Cary’s planning and development services.

Wolfgang Herz-Lane, senior pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church, said having more affordable units in a booming housing market would benefit many in the area. That includes members of his church, which is in the same neighborhood as the proposed building.

“Too many people who work in Cary, some of our parishioners included, cannot afford to live in the very town they love and serve,” Herz-Lane said. “This includes teachers, and police officers, firefighters who would have been considered middle class until they were priced out of an increasingly exclusive housing market.”

In the Raleigh-Cary Area, 80% of the AMI for a single person would be approximately $53,600 a year, with 80% of the AMI for a household of four being approximately $76,500 a year.

Herz-Lane said concerns about traffic and safety surrounding the project can be addressed but urged the council to do so without diminishing the number of units provided.

“The Laurel Street project may be the proverbial drop in the bucket, but it is an important beginning,” Hertz-Lane said.

Room for improvement

Council members were generally supportive of the project, though some identified areas they said needed improvement.

The council did not take action on the rezoning. It must go to the Planning and Zoning Board before being brought back to the Council for a final decision.

Council Member Don Frantz emphasized the need to address traffic concerns related to the rezoning.

“I think we can actually make real, tangible traffic improvements to not only address the traffic that will be created by this project but the existing traffic problem that exists in the neighborhood and especially on Ryan Road today,” Frantz said.

Council Member Jennifer Robinson said she wants to hold the developer to a high standard. She said the amount of public gathering space provided for the apartment building isn’t sufficient. Robinson also called for stormwater improvements and a more direct walking route to the nearby middle school.

However, she said she likes that the building will be near public transit, as accessible transit has been a problem for affordable housing in the past. The building would be near the intersection of SE Maynard Road and Cary Towne Boulevard.

“I think this is a good project and I think there is work to do to make it a great project,” she said.

Whelehan said the area will be equipped with a minimum of 1,200 square feet of community gathering space.

April Farley, a resident of Irongate, a neighborhood near the proposed apartments, said preserving the natural space on the 7 acres of land should be a priority.

“Green space is dwindling,” Farley said. “We cannot grow more land.”

On- and off-site trails will be constructed to provide a pedestrian pathway completing the Dunham Greenway, Whelehan said.

Two large trees will be preserved, Whelehan said, and the property will have perimeter and stream buffers deemed substantial.

A need for affordable housing

Some Cary residents disputed the use of the land, preferring a park instead of the mixed-income housing. They cited the town’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Master Plan, which listed the area in question as a future park.

Danna Widmar, assistant town manager for Cary, said misinformation circulated about the intended use of the land. In 2003, the area near East Cary Middle School became identified as potential park land, but no formal agreement was made. Though the intended purpose of the land changed, the unedited original plan for park use remains in the 2012 Master Plan, Widmar said.

Others argued, though, that the proposed development presents an opportunity to build more affordable housing in an area that continues to grow — and grow more expensive.

“It could be fairly asked, if not here and now, then when and where?” said Jeanne Ford, a Cary resident since 1981. “Of course, Laurel Street won’t solve Cary’s affordable housing crisis – and it is a crisis. More work is needed, and more units must be provided. But this development will be a solid step in the right direction.”

Town Clerk Virginia Johnson said 10 comments were submitted to the council in support of the rezoning. Additionally, One Wake, a non-partisan group that focuses on community issues, submitted its support for the project with 135 signatures. Two comments were submitted in opposition to the rezoning, while two more expressed concerns in the public hearing about aspects of the proposal but didn’t oppose the project out right.

Council Member Lori Bush, who said she grew up in affordable housing, said the positives of the project outweigh its negatives. Those positives include the promotion of socioeconomic diversity and the fact that this affordable housing will not exist in a food desert.

“Two years ago, we called the people that live in this community essential workers,” Bush said. “They put their lives on the line so that we could continue to live our lives. Firefighters, police, teachers, people who stocked our shelves, they put their lives on the line for us. I think it’s just an opportunity for us to offer (an) opportunity for them to stay in Cary.”

Frantz said the project and providing local families affordable housing is related to personal values.

“It’s a values decision,” Frantz said. “I think we’ve done great parks and a lot of things throughout town. One thing that we’re really struggling with these days is housing affordability. So it comes down to values.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 7:30 AM.