Housing GSO: HRA Greensboro Affordable Housing Plan

NEIGHBORHOOD REINVESTMENT

SUPPORT REHABILITATION AND INFILL DEVELOPMENT | Overview

Key Partners • City of Greensboro – NDD, Planning • Local subcontractors

To attract private investment to the residential market, the City will need to lead in its areas of reinvestment. Targeted infill development in areas of reinvestment should be undertaken in addition to NDD and Planning’s existing Redevelopment Area activities in Willow Oaks, Ole Asheboro, and South Elm, as well as larger plans for infill development outlined in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The recommended candidate neighborhoods for reinvestment have seen more market activity than many disinvested neighborhoods in Greensboro. However, there is still a shortage of recently renovated and/or newly constructed homes for sale and a high proportion of cash investor sales. There are also many homes that are blighted and facing code violations, including a significant portion of homes with Orders for Demolition. This landscape impacts homeownership rates and creates a lack of interest among private developers. While the City has existing resources to fund infill projects, including the East Greensboro Housing Development Revolving Loan Fund and the Non-Profit Homebuyer Revolving Loan Fund, targeted reinvestment and turning around cash sales for homeownership opportunities will require additional resources. The City can jumpstart the reinvestment process in identified areas and build back the for-sale housing stock, while supporting existing homeownership, by expanding the capacity of City staff and local subcontractors to take on renovation and infill projects and putting clear program boundaries in place to help funnel contractors and developers to the right opportunities. Greensboro’s neighborhood reinvestment process should become a multifaceted initiative, one that improves quality of life for existing residents, while also creating new opportunities for residents to purchase safe, quality, affordable homes within candidate neighborhoods for reinvestment. The City should expand opportunities for renovation and infill construction. Increasing the City’s capacity to complete reinvestment projects will reduce blight and help to build the supply of move-in ready homes in disinvested areas.

Action Steps

1. Ensure City has internal and legal capacity to handle properties placed under Order to Demo

2. Strengthen capacity for rehab by investing in local contractors

3. Consolidate all City functions related to real estate and affordable housing in candidate areas

4. Deploy approach in candidate neighborhoods

Anticipated Cost to Implement: ~$40K Per unit gap between rehab costs and market sales price for infill development construction project

HR&A Advisors, Inc.

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