|  | ![]() | Crosland to Build Affordable Housing in the TriadCharlotte, N.C., November 29, 2005 – Crosland Inc., one of the Southeast’s leading real estate companies, has been awarded contracts for affordable housing communities in both Winston-Salem and Greensboro. In Winston-Salem, the company has been hired by Eagan Partners to build both senior housing and apartment homes at Happy Hill Gardens, while in Greensboro the company was awarded federal tax credits and state tax credits to develop for-rent townhomes in Willow Oaks.
Through its involvement with public-private partnerships, Crosland is helping revitalize distressed neighborhoods throughout the state, replacing deteriorated public housing with mixed-income affordable housing. In the Triad, these projects include:
Happy Hill Gardens in Winston-Salem
In Winston-Salem, Crosland’s contracting division has teamed up with Eagan Partners to create new rental housing at Happy Hill Gardens, where 1950s barracks-style apartments were razed and are being replaced with attractive new affordable housing. Crosland and Eagan previously collaborated on the successful Aster Park at Gateway Commons, at the site of the former Kimberly Park Terrace projects, winning the 2004 Housing North Carolina Award from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
Crosland’s work at Happy Hill Gardens began this week on two developments; one for elderly households and another for working families. Alder’s Point will be a 100-unit, three-story elevator building for low-income seniors: its amenities will include an exercise room, salon, craft room, computer room and dining area. Adjacent to Alder’s Point will be Providence Place, fifty six apartment homes for families. Consisting of nine apartment buildings and a clubhouse on about five acres, Providence Place is being built by Crosland to look like traditional market-rate townhomes, incorporating an attention to architectural detail and amenities similar to those found at the award-winning Aster Park apartment homes.
“Decades ago, John Crosland got his company involved with affordable housing not only because he wanted to give back to the community, but because he thought affordable housing could be more successful in public-private partnerships,” said Denon Williams, president of Crosland’s contracting division. “Today, we still build affordable housing to be indistinguishable from market-rate apartments, because it provides residents with a quality product and enhances the neighborhoods as well.”
The Havens at Willow Oaks in Greensboro
Crosland’s work in Greensboro will involve both its contracting and apartments divisions, as the company will develop, build and manage The Havens at Willow Oaks. Crosland’s involvement is part of the ongoing revitalization occurring at the site of the former Morningside Homes, a crime-ridden public housing project that is being replaced with a mixed-income community.
Funded by a mix of federal and state tax credits as well as private investment, The Havens at Willow Oaks will consist of 60 for-rent thoughtfully designed townhomes. Half of the homes will be for families earning 50 percent of the area median income ($56,100), and the other half will be for families earning 30 percent of the area median income. Crosland expects to break ground in mid-October.
“Mixed-income housing works because it not only removes the stigma of public housing, but families with a range of incomes live together in a quality environment,” said Dean Edwards, Crosland’s vice president of affordable housing. “For example, at The Havens at Willow Oaks, you won’t be able to tell which families are in the 50 percent housing and which are in the 30 percent housing.
“By leveraging these critical HOPE VI dollars, Crosland is able to build high-quality, spacious townhomes for those with modest incomes. Crosland, HUD and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency have succeeded with this formula elsewhere in North Carolina, and it will succeed in Greensboro as well.”
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