Construction starts on long-planned South End affordable housing
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Provided by The Fallon Company
The Fallon Company began construction Wednesday on its first building at Centre South, a development announced a decade ago that includes affordable housing at the crossroads of South End, Dilworth and Uptown.
Why it matters: Charlotte was quick to tear down the low-income cottages on this site in 2017, soon after this public-private project was announced, but it's taken nearly a decade to make up for those lost units.
Zoom in: Twelve03, the name of the first building, will be a 329-unit midrise with a mix of studios, one- and two-bedrooms.
- Sixty-six units, or 20%, will rent at rates considered affordable to households earning 65% and 80% of the area median income. That's roughly between $50,000 and $63,000 for a single person.
- Amenities will include a coworking lounge, fitness center, a rooftop saltwater pool and a pet spa.
The big picture: Charlotte's housing authority, Inlivian, is partnering on the project as part of a shift in its strategy. Rather than concentrating poverty clusters of homes, Inlivian is integrating workforce housing into market-rate developments.
- In Uptown, Inlivian partnered with Washington, D.C.-based developer Urban Atlantic to redevelop the old site of a public housing tower into a seven-story apartment building called Trella at Eighth and North Tryon.
- Of Trella's 353 units, 106 are rented at income-based rates. Residents get the same access to all the glossy amenities, from the podcasting studio to rooftop pickleball courts.
- Charlotte faces a widening shortage of more than 40,000 affordable units for its lowest-income renters.
What they're saying: In a press release Wednesday afternoon, The Fallon Company applauded itself for advancing Twelve03 "at a time when few comparable developments nationally have been able to navigate today's challenging capital markets."
- The Boston-based developer has been expanding into the Charlotte market, hoping to capitalize on its growth.
- The company is well underway on 234 market-rate apartments at Colwick Road and Chiswick Road in Cotswold.
- "The journey to Centre South took longer than expected, but we remained committed to getting it right," said Fulton Meachem, president and CEO of Inlivian.
Zoom out: The full 16.7-acre Centre South development is expected to include hundreds of residences, office, retail and potentially a hotel on the site. The timeline of the full build-out is unclear.
- The rare vacant lot is down the street from the Dowd YMCA.
What's next: Construction is anticipated to wrap up in late 2028.
