Shipping container home shell that will be refitted into affordable housing near the Southern Comfort Inn. Photo by Julia Kauffman / WCNC Charlotte

West Charlotte motel turns into nonprofit to offer affordable housing once again

October 8, 2022

by Julia Kauffman, WCNC-Charlotte

The Southern Comfort Inn plans to offer transitionary housing at the motel and permanent affordable housing using steel, modular homes.

The idea of building shipping container homes for affordable housing has floated around the Charlotte area for a couple of years. Now, one nonprofit is making blueprints for the plans.

The Southern Comfort Inn is gearing up to reopen after closing in June. Its plans include transitionary housing using its own units and permanent affordable housing using container homes on the company-owned lot next door.

The extended-stay motel offered affordable rent in the past but was forced to close due to a lack of payment from residents.

With room renovations and a new mission, the inn is now opening its doors as a nonprofit called Freedom Community Outreach. Manager Traci Jones explained that becoming a nonprofit allowed them to receive better funding and help from community partners.

Jones said the inn houses a few families now, and when its transitionary units open, they’ll be dedicated to veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities.

For the container homes, formally known as steel modular homes, project manager April Benson said they plan to offer 12 of them to start at about $600 a month.

“You got people living in their cars, living on the street, so we do have people that would love to have a steel modular home,” added Benson.

However, the nonprofit needs public funding to make it happen. The group spoke with the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners during their October meeting and plans to apply for a grant.

“The narrative will change in this area when the city and county start appropriating funding to the west side of Charlotte,” Jones said. “So, with their help, and partners of Freedom Community Outreach, then we can make a lot of huge changes.”

The steel homes will be provided by Urban Creation USA. The company has dropped off a steel shell for the inn and will build it out to show the finished product.

Benson said they’re aiming to fully reopen the inn by March 2023. They’re currently applying for rezoning and public funding for the steel homes.

See more at WCNC-Charlotte.

The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems.

About The Project

Solutions Journalism Network launched the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative in 2019, a partnership of six major media companies and other local institutions focusing on issues of major importance to the Charlotte region. The collaborative is supported by $150,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its $300 million commitment to rebuild the future of local journalism, essential to a functioning democracy.

The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC) is modeled on the Solutions Journalism Network method of investigating and reporting news with a primary focus on solutions to community problems. “At a time when local journalism jobs are disappearing and trust in media has hit an all-time low, the Solutions Journalism Network has taken on the challenge by organizing collaborative journalism reporting projects that promote excellent reporting and civic dialogue. the model has the potential to be part of a new wave of great local reporting, which is vital to building strong communities,” said Karen Rundlet, Knight Foundation director for journalism.

West Charlotte motel turns into nonprofit to offer affordable housing once again

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