An affordable housing project is underway to preserve a Black neighborhood in Raleigh, NC.
According to The News & Observer, LeVelle Moton, the North Carolina Central University head basketball coach, will lead an $8.3 million real estate project called Cottages of Idlewild through his company, Raleigh Raised Development, created alongside business partners with CJ Mann and Terrell Midgett.
This project aims to support Idlewild, a primarily Black community that was one of Raleigh’s earliest neighborhoods where former slaves achieved homeownership. The outlet notes that as time went on, however, it became harder for the community to afford to live in the area due to gentrification.
Cottages of Idlewild will consist of 18 affordable houses on 1.7 acres of city-owned property, backed by assistance from donors, including NC Realtors Housing Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Coastal Credit Union Foundation.
The venture holds greater significance to Moton because, per the outlet, he was raised in Raleigh since the tender age of eight by his mother, Hattie McDougald, and lived in the city’s Lane Street housing projects.
“It brings me profound relief,” Moton told The News & Observer. “These neighborhoods hold rich histories.”
The outlet reports that Cottages of Idlewild, under a public-private partnership with the Raleigh Area Land Trust (RALT) and design and construction firm Haven Design | Build, has been five years in the making. The project is set to be underway in the summer of 2024 and is expected to take 14 to 18 months to complete. Furthermore, the affordable homes will cater to residents earning between $23,800 and $81,600 annually, 50% to 80% of the area median income (AMI).
Moreover, 14 two to three bedroom residences will be exclusively available for individuals purchasing their first home with incomes at or below 60% of the AMI, and some homes will sell for “as low as $145,000.”
To meet eligibility for the conditions above, residents must comply with Raleigh Raised Development’s community trust model. The outlet mentions that this model’s provisions include the trust maintaining permanent ownership rights over the land and enabling buyers to lease the land for a nominal fee of approximately $50 per month for up to 99 years. Additionally, residents will pay property taxes at a lowered rate and resale rates will be restricted to ensure the project upholds its mission of making housing accessible to the community.
For Moton, he has witnessed how gentrification has affected historical neighborhoods like Idlewild. With this new development, he hopes to bring a solution to Raleigh and show a better way to combat the reality in the real estate market.
“I’ve witnessed people try to infiltrate our neighborhoods and profit,” Moton shared with The News & Observer. “For me, it’s deeply personal. I’m fueled by a deep sense of responsibility.”
With support from organizations like RALT, Cottages of Idlewild seems promising and a glimmer of hope for people to have a chance at owning property.
“The Cottages of Idlewild project is only the beginning,” Kevin Campbell, RALT’s executive director, stated to the outlet. “There’s so much more that we’ll need to build.”
