The West Side Community Land Trust has purchased 32 homes in Charlotte's Hoskins neighborhood northwest of uptown and plans to keep the homes affordable.
The land trust's executive director, Charis Blackmon, said residents were alarmed this year when they found the 32 rental homes were going up for sale by a single landlord.
"They were concerned that they would be displaced and homeless. Neighbors that owned their homes in the community were concerned that all the houses would be bulldozed, and new developments would come," Blackmon said.
Her group stepped in and purchased the homes with a $6 million donation from Mecklenburg County. That's just under $188,000 per house. Blackmon said it was the largest gift her group had received to date.
"If it had not been for the county, we would not have been able to preserve these units," she said.
The land trust will keep rents low, Blackmon said, and renovate the homes over the next two years. After that, renters may have the opportunity to purchase their homes.
Blackmon said the acquisition brings the total number of homes in the land trust's portfolio to 162.
Correction: An earlier version of this story contained details of an event that is not open to the public, but only to invitees and media representatives.