Opponents to housing in Chapel Hill often say that they’re not against more housing, they’re just against a particular development or type of housing because of its location and/or because it won’t solve our affordable housing crisis. (This has, in practice, meant that they’ve largely and vocally been against every opportunity to add new housing […]
Affordable Housing
Posted inHousing
Low income residents need more market-rate apartments
As a graduate student, my income is below Chapel Hill’s median. I pay almost half my income to my landlord. I expect to be priced out of any new apartments in Chapel Hill under consideration in the Blue Hill District. To help cost-burdened tenants like me, I hope the Town Council continues to allow the development of dense new market-rate apartments in this area as quickly as possible.
Posted inAffordable Housing
An undergrad’s perspective on student neighbors in Chapel Hill
NextDoorers, please stop trying to make rent too expensive before you at least get to know your student neighbors. Yes, unknown Nextdoor users, drunk 19-year-olds are obnoxious. However, Chapel Hill is one of the most highly educated towns in the country, with 75% of residents holding at least a bachelor’s degree. So, there is a […]
Posted inFrom the archives
Chapel Hill, 1968: The Death of Elliott Woods?
By the 1960s, Chapel Hill had a reputation as a place with progressive values, with legislation like its open housing act underscoring the town’s standing as a liberal beacon in the South. But Brooks argued that at best, Chapel Hill was just like many other places and, at worst, especially problematic because of the hypocrisy of many of the town’s residents.
Posted inHousing
Explainer: LIHTCs in general and in Orange County
The federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) is not well understood, but is responsible for more than $1 billion of new real estate activity in North Carolina each year. Currently the state has more than 1,200 properties containing 70,000 units in almost every county, yet odds are hardly anyone reading this post can name one. How did the […]
Posted inChapel Hill
In-Chu Co and Missing Middle Housing: Chapel Hill’s Missing Middle Housing Battle in 1968
This week, we are publishing a five-part series looking back at Chapel Hill in 1968, and the lengthy and contentious battle to build duplexes and small apartments next to a church, and between a neighborhood of single-family homes and a shopping center.