'BETTER TOGETHER': Ribbon cutting celebrates completion of Linden Avenue housing project

Oct. 15—A joint effort from many entities was celebrated Thursday as the ribbon was cut on a housing project that will assist people experiencing homelessness in Sanford.

The Sanford Housing Authority and its development arm, Central Carolina Strategic Developers, with its partners including the City of Sanford, North Carolina Finance Agency, the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development held the ceremony at a five-unit building located at 226 Linden Avenue in Sanford. The project is billed as an affordable rental development initiative.

"We're here for our ribbon cutting for permanent housing for homeless families," Hope White, Sanford Housing Authority board chair, said as she welcomed a large crowd to the event.

White stressed the word "permanent" as she spoke about the project.

"As long as they follow the lease — they have somewhere to stay," she said. "This is not a transition, they don't have to worry about somebody having a timeline or expiration date, as long as they follow the lease, they can stay. I think that's amazing for our city, for our community. Homelessness is a problem everywhere and this is just a dent in what the Sanford Housing Authority, the City of Sanford and our partners can do. This is just the beginning."

After thanking all of the people and entities involved, White spoke about the collaboration and its importance to the project.

"I think that if I had to sum up everything that has taken place, it would be 'better together,' " she said. "We all did it together. Better together — we all work better together."

Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon said it was a day everyone had waited a long time for and echoed White's statement.

"Hope, you summed it up so well when you said, 'better together,' " Salmon said. "That's truly what we are and that's truly the heart of what's made this project come to fruition."

Salmon said the project began in 2018 and attributed the success to the groups all working together.

"Partnership and collaboration is really what we do here in Sanford," she said. "It is what underpins all of our successful projects. We really were looking to undertake something that would be an initiative to help folks that are experiencing homelessness. To be able to take a building that had been sitting vacant for years — it was a former Head Start building — and transform it into five units of supported housing that will be managed by the Sanford Housing Authority to help these families and these people have a successful life here in Sanford is truly a spectacular moment of collaboration."

State Rep. John Sauls also spoke about the project and its impact. He noted the crowd and that cars were parked up and down Linden Avenue for everyone to attend.

"From the very beginning of me getting involved in Sanford and Lee County, I was blown away with the connectivity in every area," he said. "People coming together and putting their political thoughts aside and doing what's best for this city and county. Because we've been working as one — you cannot stop people who are unified."

He said the efforts "moved him."

"This is love in action — absolute love in action," Sauls said. "It just touches my heart. People in Sanford and Lee County care — they don't just give lip service."

John Anderson, acting field office director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development congratulated the group that was assembled and greetings from other government officials. He spoke about HUD being able to support the nation's vulnerable populations — like the project for the homeless in Sanford.

"I'm excited to take part in events like this," he said. "They bring us one step closer to our shared goal of ending homelessness."

Anderson noted that the structure will now be host to four one bedroom units and one two bedroom unit.

"This means families who were once experiencing homelessness will now have an opportunity to call 226 Linden Ave. home, which is something worth celebrating" Anderson said.

Other speakers who talked about the efforts included Valerie Fegans from the NC Department of Commerce, Robert Hughes of S3 Housing Connect and Karen Kennedy from the City of Sanford.

"It's just a beautiful project here," Kennedy said as the program was concluding. She complimented the attendance at the event and thanked all involved.

After the ribbon cutting many people stayed to tour the renovated building and units.