The Charlotte Observer

Seattle program makes homes affordable in a pricey market. Is it a model for Charlotte?

December 10, 2019

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer, Uncategorized

By Lauren Lindstrom The Charlotte Observer SEATTLE Susan Zeman and Bob Downing immediately found a lot to love about their two-bedroom townhouse in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. They loved that they could stay in the same community where they’d lived for years and formed close ties. She loved that they…

West Charlotte is rapidly gentrifying. How this nonprofit wants to make homes affordable.

December 10, 2019

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

By Lauren Lindstrom The Charlotte Observer Charis Blackmon doesn’t have to look further than the ground beneath her feet to see change happening in Enderly Park. The West Side Community Land Trust, where Blackmon is executive director, bought the Tuckaseegee Road plot last year for $16,000 as the future site…

When Charlotte’s employers raise minimum wages, contract workers are often left out

October 29, 2019

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

By Pam Kelley Charlotte Observer There’s been good news on the Charlotte wage front in the past couple of years: Some of the city’s largest employers have announced significant minimum wage increases – as much as $17 an hour at Bank of America and $16 for city of Charlotte employees.…

‘One job should be enough’: How Charlotte’s low-wage jobs make housing unaffordable

October 29, 2019

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

By Pam Kelley Charlotte Observer Consider Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis as a math problem. Housing costs are too high. Wages are too low. How do you solve it? So far, the community has focused on half the equation, raising and spending tens of millions to build and subsidize affordable units,…

‘I just want more for them’: New program aims to boost families’ economic mobility

September 9, 2019

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

By Lauren Lindstrom The Charlotte Observer Shaquana Shaw knew immediately when she found it: the spacious house on a tree-lined street with a fenced-in backyard and nearby good schools was exactly what she wanted. Shaw and her two young children were among the first families to use a new enhanced…

Company bought hundreds of houses. Now, poor are getting ‘priced out,’ critics say

December 5, 2018

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

By Fred Clasen-Kelly, Anna Douglas and Julianna Rennie The Charlotte Observer Over the last decade, out-of-state rental companies have bought thousands of houses across Charlotte, raising rents in a city already struggling with a shortage of affordable housing. For Angela Campbell the news still came as a shock earlier this…

Charlotte spent millions on low-income housing, but poor people can’t afford it

October 18, 2018

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

David T. Foster III | DTFOSTER@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM Curtis Simpson and his longtime partner, Tameka Boone, said their east Charlotte duplex has roaches, mold and plumbing problems. Simpson wants to move to a new home, but says his $25,500 a year salary as a school custodian isn’t enough for safe and decent…

To bring more affordable housing, Charlotte could sell or donate publicly owned land

September 24, 2018

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

Richard Simmons, 72, of Matthews tells Charlotte City Council that he wants to put a face on the data that show rents are rising in the Charlotte area. BY JEFF SINER By Ely Portillo The Charlotte Observer When it comes to affordable housing, the missing ingredient is often land. To…

A developer broke his pledge to build affordable housing near uptown, a jury found

September 6, 2018

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

A community group in one of Charlotte’s oldest predominantly black neighborhoods has won a large verdict against a developer after a jury found the developer broke promises to build affordable housing on land purchased for below market value. For more on this story, see the Charlotte Observer: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article217814295.html Outreach OverviewOutreach OverviewTeen…

Free land and a $20m pledge: Big, new plans for affordable housing in Charlotte

August 27, 2018

Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, The Charlotte Observer

Richard Simmons, 72, of Matthews tells Charlotte City Council that he wants to put a face on the data that show rents are rising in the Charlotte area. BY JEFF SINER/Charlotte Observer Charlotte’s efforts to build more affordable housing got a boost Monday (8/27/18), with the announcement of large donations…