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Dear Subscriber,

If you read the local news, you may have seen one of several recent articles from sources like Indy Week, Chapelboro, or the News and Observer about the Longleaf Trace development, which was approved by the Town of Chapel Hill about three weeks ago. I’m excited to share more about this new project we’re planning in partnership with Taft Mills Group!

You may recognize the name of Taft Mills Group as our partner for Tanyard Branch Trace, the affordable rental community we’ll be co-developing on Jay Street in Chapel Hill. When completed, that project will provide 48 affordable rental units for tenants earning 30-60% area median income (AMI). The project is a public-private partnership and will be built on land provided by the Town of Chapel Hill. It has received funding from the Town, federal funding from the LIHTC program, and federal Community Project Funding as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. It is expected to break ground in late summer or early fall of this year, and residents should be moving in in early 2026.

This new project in the news recently, Longleaf Trace, will also provide 48 rental units for tenants earning 30-60% AMI, but these units will also be age restricted for residents age 55 and older. This restriction is in response to the growing need for more affordable units for older adults, as outlined in this report. In 2021, 22% of Orange County’s population was aged 60+ (32,761), and that number is expected to increase by 43% in the next 20 years. Meanwhile, when this report was released in 2023, there were only three 55+ rental communities in Orange County.

So we’re in the planning process now for Longleaf Trace. On April 19, the Town of Chapel Hill approved the zoning request for 1708 Legion Road after it was the first project to go through the new expedited review process for affordable housing projects. (Note: this project is adjacent to but not related to the one proposed on the Town-owned land at 1714 Legion Road.) Next, we will wait to hear if we receive LIHTC funding, which we should know by early fall. If we receive that funding, we will be ready to begin planning for construction.

The development process sometimes feels slow – too slow! — and frustratingly complicated. But we’re very grateful for how this process has gone so far, especially the broad support the project has received from the community and the Town, as well as the new expedited review process that has kept it moving along. It’s clear that folks understand the need to provide affordable rental housing for our older residents and are committed to making it possible, and we look forward to continuing to engage with neighbors and community members to learn more about how we can best meet the needs of our future tenants at Longleaf Trace.

Kimberly Sanchez, Executive Director