Charlotte area church re-imanged for affordable housing

CAMERON WILLIAMS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Tania VanDyke, the first tenant at The Sanctuary apartments in Concord, speaks at the complex's ribbon-cutting on July 14. The Sanctuary is the former Kerr Street Baptist Church.

CONCORD — Tania VanDyke is on her way to home ownership.

VanDyke is the first resident of The Sanctuary apartments on Kerr Street which was once Kerr Street Baptist Church. The complex features studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments each unit with its own thermostat and washer/dryer connections. 

“My long-term goal has always been to own a home, but even more importantly, I wanted to create stability for myself and my daughter,” she said.

WeBuild Concord’s mission is to build affordable workforce housing. On July 14, the nonprofit held a ribbon cutting ceremony for The Sanctuary. 

“I am honored to be the first resident of the Sanctuary Apartments,” VanDyke said. “I first learned about WeBuild [Concord] through my work at Cooperative Christian Ministries where I have served the last five years as the program manager… I work closely with single mothers experiencing homelessness and helping them secure stable housing. Through this role, I see firsthand the housing challenges that face our community every day.”

Affordable housing is an issue across the country, including greater Charlotte. In Concord, the median home price is between $365,000 and $380,000. In Charlotte, the median price rose $443,850 in 2025 and the city has a shortage of more than 40,000 units that the lowest-income households can afford. 

To afford a median-priced home in Charlotte, a household needs an income of $138,000, while the actual median household income is roughly $80,000.

Only 2% of houses sold in Charlotte went for under $150,000 in 2024, and about 19% sold for under $300,000. Homeownership is elusive for Black people in Mecklenburg County, where the rate is 43% compared to 68% for white households. In North Carolina, the rate is 47% for Black households compared to 75% for their white peers. 

VanDyke said moving into The Sanctuary will help her save money to buy a house of her own.

“As a single mother, home ownership can feel out of reach, but We Build Concord has given me hope and a clear path forward,” she said. … “Living at The Sanctuary apartments will allow me to save money, build a stronger financial foundation, and prepare to purchase a home within the next two years. … I look forward not only to achieving home ownership but also helping other hardworking single mothers in our community to pursue the same dream.”

WeBuild Concord CEO Partick Graham recounted driving by the shuttered church in 2022 and seeing a real estate agent leave the building. He realized an opportunity to convert the church into housing and placed a call to contact the realtor and make an offer.

“I said to myself, ‘Wouldn’t this be a great place to have the resurrection of the church to serve a purpose for the people still, instead of being empty?” he said. “I sat in the car with a hotspot on my laptop and within two hours we had a contract on the building. Since then, it has been one of our dreams ever since and today, we are here to witness it. … 

“I love this place, and I want to see it serve as an example to everyone of what communities can do when we decide that everybody deserves an opportunity to take people from cost burden to home ownership, from cost burden to stability and wealth, from dreams to new realities that make our neighborhoods better through its people.”

Concord Mayor Pro Tem John Sweat Jr. said the Sanctuary’s conversion has been a long time coming but the work of improving access to housing is far from over.

“This project, overall, it’s amazing,” he said. “There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that went into this, and a whole lot of sore knees for prayer. … When Dr. Graham talked to us, his last words were, ‘We have much work to do,’ and that is true in all things that we do in our community. So, this isn't about one person, a title, any of that. This is about our community. This is about everyone coming together, voicing their opinions, their wishes, their needs, and this is so historic. I feel so great that we’re on hallowed ground today, and I am really excited to be here.”

On the Net: 

webuildconcord.org

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