‘Beyond a home’: Charlotte church pairs community services with affordable housing plan

Merritt McCully gazed from a window inside the Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church at the coming fruition of the congregation’s vision — a new, affordable housing complex.

Over the years, members of the Hidden Valley church on West Sugar Creek Road have witnessed how the lack of decent housing often hinders many families from finding a permanent place to live.

That will change for some families without homes once construction on Sugree Place, a 51-unit complex, is completed.

The church is among a budding group of faith-based organizations who are taking matters into their own hands to create more affordable housing — places that also connect future families with needed access to health, community and other social services.

“We need to look at solutions that come from a community level,” McCully, executive director of Mayfield Memorial Community Development Corporation, said. “This is one of those solutions.”

The church has long opened its doors to those in need, Mayfield’s senior pastor, Rev. Peter Wherry said. But seeing hardworking people juggle multiple jobs and still lack housing made him realize more can be done to help. Some families are forced to live in hotels located on Sugar Creek Road, he said. Many more are left unhoused.

Church leadership met with affordable housing experts and city officials to find a way to create “faith-based affordable housing,” Wherry said. It moves beyond simply providing a home. It connects families with the tools needed to break the cycle of poverty.

Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church donated 5 acres of its own land for developer DreamKey Partners to establish Sugaree Place, Wherry said.

Construction is still underway, but applications will open in March. The $14 million project includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The complex will open in June for people who make 30% to 80% of area median income, or $28,250 to $75,350 a year for a family of four.

Future Sugaree Place residents will have access to the church’s programs, according to Wherry. This includes the church’s after school and summer programs for elementary kids. They will also have access to a mobile pharmacy the church runs in partnership with Atrium Health.

“This is a whole new evolution of what’s needed in our city,” Wherry said.

Other houses of worship in Charlotte are trying similar approaches.

Little Rock AME Zion Church similarly donated land in 2020 to create a 105-unit apartment complex with 50 of its units income-restricted, QCityMetro first reported. Meanwhile, Caldwell Presbyterian Church converted an unused building into 21 studio apartments for low-income residents, WFAE reported.

Nearly $2 million came from the city’s housing trust fund to support the Sugaree Place project, according to a budget breakdown shared with the Charlotte Observer. Grant money, loans and the low income housing tax credit also helped financed the initiative.

In September, after being awarded nearly $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds, the nonprofit hired four neighborhood community health ambassadors . The team works in Hidden Valley, where all of its members live, and will assist future Sugaree Place residents.

“In Charlotte your zip code is more determinant of your lifespan than your medical profile,” Wherry said. “Now our church and MMCDC not only has these apartments, but a full team to help.”

McCully said the team is called Hola Neighbor. It is a group of citizens, who through a Facebook page, alert residents to available services provided by the city, or local organizations and nonprofits. The team serves as a bridge for new residents with health services, and for Black and brown Hidden Valley residents currently living here, he said.

In its first few months, the team has knocked on doors, collaborated with nonprofits and participated in neighborhood events to connect with families.

Leticia Lopez, a community health ambassador, said when speaking with other Hidden Valley residents, she’s heard some are foregoing buying groceries to cover rent. A Hidden Valley resident herself, Lopez also has seen how addiction and homelessness has left families without opportunity right outside of the neighborhood.

Team members also have done pre-screenings with residents to determine what their needs are, he said. Based on those needs, they connect them with services such as the Camino Health Center or the Charlotte Community Health Clinic. Afterwards the team will followup to learn if the resources were beneficial.

“I feel that this will not only increase the quality of life for more residents, it will give them more opportunities,” Lopez said.

Hola neighbor

Valerie Ford, a Hidden Valley resident, has lived on and off in her neighborhood for a decade. She’s witnessed the growing need for affordable housing in the area.

“We deal with a lot of health and food challenges,” Ford, a community health ambassador, said. “Housing stability is also a growing need but now Sugaree Place will help fill that void.”

The nimble team has serviced Hidden Valley for only five months, but each of them have lived in the neighborhood for several years. They’ve also partnered with local nonprofits, such as Champion House of Care to deliver food and supplies for those living in hotels on Sugar Creek.

In January, the team conducted 35 of its own pre-screenings — 21 in English and 14 in Spanish — to hear what needs current residents have. The rising costs of rent is one of the common burdens being heard, said Elena Peguero, another community health ambassador and Hidden Valley resident for five years.

Many are renters, like herself, who are being pushed out because of rising rents.Often people are unaware of the resources readily available to them, she said.

“There is a lot of potential for families based right here in this area,” Peguero said. “It’s clearly a lot of potential because there’s a lot of corporations buying houses in the neighborhood.”

Hola Neighbor, Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church and the Mayfield Memorial Development Corporation envision accomplishing more when the new complex opens, said McCully.

“You now have people who can walk besides their neighbors and give them access to the help they need,” he said.