Subsidized Housing Set For Funding Approval In Ayrsley Neighborhood

A proposal to build new subsidized housing in Charlotte's Ayrsley neighborhood has received considerably less opposition than a similar project last year. Residents near Westinghouse Boulevard and Tryon Street last year managed to derail approval for 90-units of affordable housing that required a waiver from the city council because it's within half a mile of another subsidized housing complex. Ayrsley residents say they purchased homes with the promise that the proposed development site would be community playing fields, not apartments. A year later, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership is back with a plan to build 86 affordable apartments for senior citizens in the same spot. The city's recently-revised policy for affordable housing allows projects for seniors to be built anywhere in the city. On Monday night, the City Council is set to approve $1.8 million for the project from the tax-funded Housing Trust Fund. Ayrsley resident Chris Stulginski says neighbors feel resigned to the project. "There are a lot of people that have expressed the sentiment to me that, 'Okay, well, there's really nothing we can do about it. We played by the rules last year. And that's it.'" says Stulginski. "And they say if this is successful, we'll go ahead and welcome the community and go forward from there." Stulginski adds the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership went out of its way to hold an open house this week to address neighborhood concerns more respectfully than it did last year.