PHOTO | ASHLEY MAHONEY

West Side Community Land Trust broke ground Friday on an affordable housing initiative in the Lincoln Heights community with three donated homes to be sold for $170,000. The average price of homes in the Charlotte region in March was $370,706.

West Side Community Land Trust found a way to upcycle homes and address affordable home ownership.

The nonprofit broke ground Friday on three affordable homes in Lincoln Heights at 1942 Gilbert St. The currently vacant lots, which are owned by the Trust, will soon feature three donated homes that would have otherwise have been demolished. Instead, three families chose to donate homes they had outgrown to West Side Community Land Trust. Including these three homes, West Side Community Land Trust will have upcycled six homes.

The latest additions, which will be relocated and renovated, will receive $117,000 in funding from the city of Charlotte’s $24.5 million Corridors of Opportunity program, which includes Beatties Ford Road, to prepare the site. However, West Side Community Land Trust did work with the city on its last land trust, which were two shotgun houses donated by the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture.

“We talk about affordable housing, [and] we talk about renting often, but I also want you all to know there is a home ownership portion to affordable housing,” said Pamela Wideman, director of the city’s Housing & Neighborhood Services Department.

Said City Council District 3 representative Victoria Watlington: “This is an investment in Charlotte’s future, because it is an investment in the viability of the land trust model.”

The homes are intended for people earning 60-80% of the area median income, which equates to roughly $50,000 for a family of four. Homes in the region sold for an average price of $370,706 in March, according to Charlotte-based Canopy Relator Association. West Side Community Land Trust executive director Charis Blackmon said two newer houses on Gilbert Street sold for $350,000. All three of the land trust houses floorplans include three bedrooms and two bathrooms and will be sold for $170,000.

“That is what a family of four earning about $50,000, which is 60% of AMI can afford to pay on a mortgage,” Blackmon said.

Said West Side Community Land Trust board member and state Rep. Terry Brown Jr.: “A majority of the people who are going to be coming through the Land Trust process are first-time home buyers. We have done multiple open houses throughout the past two years and developed a good list of people who have shown interest in becoming West Side Land Trust home owners. From that process, we kind of whittled it down to who is ready at this current moment.”

Gentrification continues to spread across Charlotte, including the Beatties Ford Road corridor.

“Yesterday when I was out here preparing for the groundbreaking, a neighbor came over and said that he wanted to have one of these houses one day, because he has been renting for years in this community,” Blackmon said. “He started renting at $750 [monthly and] is now spending $1,100, and then told us about the two homes up the street that sold for $350,000 in this community. This work is critical to a) even being able to provide staying power for people who are at most risk of being displaced, and b) it also offers accessible and affordable home ownership opportunities in communities that are starting to shift.”

The land trust’s goal is to help people access economic mobility through affordable home ownership.

“The community has responded very favorably,” Blackmon said. “Right now we have a waiting list of about 70 individuals who are looking to purchase Land Trust homes, and this is without any marketing. We are not on the open Multiple Listing Service. We have just been spreading the word to community members. That is really reflective of the need in Charlotte where houses at this price point are virtually unavailable.”

On the Net:

www.westsideclt.org

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