Charlotte is turning to more partners in the challenge of bringing affordable housing to its residents, including churches and other faith-based organizations.
In October, the City of Charlotte announced a partnership with Enterprise Community Partners on an initiative to transform underutilized land owned by faith-based organizations into affordable housing. The launch of the Faith in Housing Charlotte initiative included the selection of a dozen local faith-based groups for the inaugural cohort, who combined have more than 88 acres of unused land across Mecklenburg County.
In that announcement, Councilmember LaWana Mayfield, who leads the city’s Faith in Housing initiative, said “many of our faith communities want to use their land to meet housing needs, but they need the right tools and support to move forward.” The program, which is supported by $430,321 in funding from the city government, will train organizations on the development process, provide technical assistance, help connect the cohort to industry professionals and resources and provide funding to the selected organizations.
Many faith-based groups have already begun building affordable housing in Charlotte. In this selected cohort, The Park Church had an early start, completing its first affordable housing project, Gilfield Park, which opened in 2023, offering 80 units to seniors 55 and up. In June of this year, the church filed a rezoning petition to turn the 30 acres behind the church into more than 300 affordable units.
On today’s episode, we look at how faith, land and policy are intersecting to reshape Charlotte’s housing future.
GUESTS:
Dr. Christie Cade, vice president and southeast market leader, Enterprise Community Partners
Rebecca Hefner, director of housing and neighborhood services, City of Charlotte
James Jackson, founding chair, The Park CDC
LaWana Mayfield, councilmember, at-large representative, City of Charlotte
