East Charlotte families could be priced out of homes by raised rents

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Vulnerable families who fled to Charlotte to escape war and persecution could soon be priced out of their rental homes.

"Every place we move we are kicked out, so please stop. We already left our home," said one father, who didn't want to be named.

He's a refugee who escaped from Syria to Charlotte, hoping to find a stable life for his family.

"We ran from our country because of the killings. There was no safe life," he said.

He hoped to find that safe life he dreamed of at the Arcadian Village Apartments, but families like his who risked everything to make the apartments their home could lose them.

The apartments were just sold to a private out-of-state investment group that's expected to raise rents.

The company that brokered the deal said the buyer is planning to renovate the units and add amenities.

Concerns about those plans run deep in the apartment community because hundreds of families live there and many survive on fixed incomes.

"Families are not going to be able to afford the new rent," said Julie Porter, with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership.

Porter tried to save the apartments to keep them affordable, but she was outbid.

She thinks something such as a housing opportunity fund needs to be created so nonprofits like hers can put together enough money to outbid the big money from out-of-town players.

"The business community, some of the civic community, if they came together and said, ‘We'll provide a pool of low-cost capital,’ I really think we could do something special," Porter said.

It's becoming more and more of a challenge as room for apartments run out in South End.

Developers are now going further out to areas, including the Independence Boulevard corridor where new apartments are replacing low-rent units.

When the renovated units at the Arcadian Village open up, the Housing Partnership thinks rent will be 22-30 percent higher for residents.

"We are looking for peace so please don't raise the rent. We want to settle down finally,” said a Syrian refugee mother who didn't want to be named.

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