CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many residents in Charlotte's Cherry neighborhood are celebrating an important vote to pave the way for more affordable housing, which will keep them from being forced out.
Charlotte City Council approved five rezoning requests to build new apartments and single-family homes priced between $600 and $1,200 in monthly rent.
The Charlotte Housing Authority is championing the biggest project of four of the land parcels to build 81 units. CHA Chief Executive Officer Fulton Meachem said those who are elderly and disabled could be eligible to live in the new housing. Those who are able to work could be eligible as well, but there are certain requirements they would have to meet.
The Cherry neighborhood is one of Charlotte's oldest. Many longtime residents have been fighting to maintain its affordability while in bordering neighborhoods like Dilworth and Myers Park, home and rental prices continue to go up.
Residents said they've learned sitting on the fringe of uptown makes them a takeover target for new and expensive development.
"If Cherry does not have housing available to a diverse set of homeowners and renters, it risks becoming a neighborhood of haves and have-nots," said Councilwoman Patsy Kinsey, who represents the neighborhood on Charlotte City Council.
The Charlotte Housing Authority said the new, affordable homes should be ready to live in by 2017.
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