Greetings,,
On June 29, I spent the day with the leadership team from DHIC and a group of NeighborWorks network leaders in Raleigh, NC. DHIC’s president, Greg Warren, and his terrific staff hosted a meeting to discuss the redevelopment of a large site near downtown Raleigh known as Washington Terrace. The challenge and opportunity is to create a master plan that can transform the space to reflect the aspirations of the people who live in the community.
Raleigh, like so many places I’ve visited across the country in my first five months at NeighborWorks, is experiencing a resurgence in its downtown as young people move in to experience urban living with food, bars and culture within walking distance. Many parts of the city are gentrifying. Housing prices are rising rapidly and the demographics are changing.
Residents want to preserve the affordability of Washington Terrace, composed of 245 apartments in 66 buildings on 25 acres, while improving it for original tenants as well as new ones. Built in 1949, the community is known for its history as the first housing for African-American professionals in the city. Now, 65 years later and with little new investment by previous owners, the buildings have reached the end of their useful lives.
Network leaders flew in from across the country to talk about the project. In attendance from the network were Michael Bauer from Providence Housing, New Orleans, LA; Fred Dodson from Charlotte-Mecklenberg Housing Partnership, Charlotte, NC; Mike Hynes, The Housing Partnership, Louisville, KY; Steve Kirk, Rural Neighborhoods, Florida City, FL; Dennis Lalor, South County Housing, Gilroy, CA; Lisa Minklei, Homeport, Columbus, OH; and Jeanne Pinado, Madison Park Development Corp., Roxbury, MA. Don Phoenix, Tom Deyo and Paul Singh represented NeighborWorks America staff.
Among the development and community-building challenges the group addressed were the high infrastructure costs, the impact of the parking requirement on the community and how to best approach the owners of run-down commercial space adjacent to the property. We also discussed how to create amenities requested by residents, like open space, better access to laundry services, a community center and child-care facilities.
For me, the event was an opportunity to learn more about how network members approach place-making in our work together. Place-making is about doing development in a way that protects existing residents from rising values by preserving existing affordable rental housing and creating homeownership options. It is development that incorporates resident voices, embraces diversity and inclusion, and builds a path toward better life outcomes for people and communities.
Increasingly, the strong nonprofit organizations in our network are called upon by partners in the public and private sector to transform communities. The meeting on Monday was a great example of how we might support each other in this work.
Best,
Paul
