News Release

HUD approval a ‘tipping point’ for Goler-Depot Street revitalization plans;
$8.8 million award to bring senior housing to downtown Winston-Salem

Plans to revitalize the historic Goler-Depot Street neighborhood in downtown Winston-Salem have won an $8.8 million vote of confidence from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The money will make possible the first affordable housing complex for seniors in the heart of downtown, a key ingredient in plans to develop a mixed-use, mixed-income, multicultural neighborhood on 10 acres at the edge of the city’s Arts District.

The six-story apartment building will rise at the corner Sixth and Chestnut streets between the old Brown & Williamson factory, ready for conversion into market-rate loft apartments, and 118-year-old Goler Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church. Construction is to begin next year, with the 79 apartments ready for occupancy in 2006.

Sponsors of the project are two non-profits: N.C. Housing Foundation, Inc., based in Winston-Salem, and Goler-Depot Renaissance Corp., which Goler Memorial founded as its community development arm in 1998.

“It’s so competitive,” said Sandra Jennings, assistant vice president of the Housing Foundation. “To win an award like this is really quite nice.”

The federal funding is authorized under Section 202 of the National Housing Act to support housing for low-income seniors. HUD awarded the sponsors $7,659,600 in the form of a capital advance and $1,166,500 in rental subsidies over five years. The advance will be forgiven if the apartments remain in operation for 40 years.

For this round of funding HUD announced that 79 units could be funded in metropolitan counties in North Carolina, according to Perry Craven of Perry C. Craven Associates Inc., which assembled the successful application. She said Goler and the Housing Foundation were “pretty aggressive” in applying for all the units HUD was advertising.

“This is an incredible commitment of financing to Goler’s efforts,” Craven said.

The senior apartments, which have not yet been named, will provide independent living for older adults earning 50 percent of the median income.

“This is a tipping point for plans to restore the Goler Heights neighborhood,” said Michael Suggs, chairman of the board of Goler-Depot Renaissance Corp. “This is will be a vital part of building a ‘New Town in Town.’”

The “New Town In Town” is the multi-year, $44 million redevelopment plan that Goler Community Development Corp. unveiled last year. Projects include the construction of six townhomes, the first of which have been listed for sale.

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Contact: Mike Massoglia, 336.723.5315