Rare cluster of affordable housing near South End to get multi-million dollar renovation

A rare affordable housing option will get a multi-million-dollar facelift in the shadow of burgeoning South End construction — work Lachelle Cherry hopes will keep alive the close-knit community she calls home

Her family’s connection to Brookhill Village Apartments, nestled between S. Tryon Street and Remount Road, dates back generations.

To her grandmother, who moved in when Cherry’s mother was 13 years old and stayed till she died. To her mother, who came back to Brookhill after serving in the military. And to Cherry herself, who returned to Brookhill after her own “trip around the world” in the armed forces.

“Going from being a child to coming back as an adult, it’s a lot smaller,” she said. “But the buildings still look the same. It’s a lot of nostalgia.”

The complex has shrunk considerably since its construction in 1950: What was once a 418-unit development on about 35 acres is now just 100 housing units on about 9 acres. The rest were demolished, and just 78 of the remaining units are occupied, according to the city.

Now, the current owners aim to use a partnership approved last month with the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to preserve what’s left and bring more development to the remaining land.

Today, the average annual household income in Brookhill Village is $23,200, and the average monthly rent is $466, according to a July presentation to Mecklenburg County commissioners from the Affordable Housing Initiatives team. Newer South End apartments list rents starting in the $1,500 range.

Brookhill residents average 54 years old and are 97% African American and 64% female. About 33% of households have children, and 38% of residents have a disability or are retired.

The siding sags on some buildings, and the windows are busted out on others. Deep potholes on the roads through the complex become mud puddles in summer rain.

Amid a new influx of public money, construction crews clean up debris from vacant units and work to repair roofs as part of the project to restore Brookhill Village to its former glory.

What’s planned for Brookhill Village?

The Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County Commission in July approved spending a combined $7 million at Brookhill, including on renovations to the remaining 100 units.

The money will keep the apartments “affordable to households earning less than 80% of the area median income through 2049,” according to the city, and is contingent on the developer keeping all 100 units affordable through 2049.

Planned renovations include roof repairs or replacements, interior and exterior painting, new heating and cooling units and more.

The Harvest Center, a Charlotte nonprofit, will also fund a new administrative office and community resource center on the property to provide support services to residents and take over 22 vacant units for people who are experiencing homelessness.

Up to 39 currently occupied units will go to The Harvest Center’s transitional housing program as current residents move out “voluntarily” over time, the city’s statement said. Those units will remain affordable for households “in the 30% to 80% area median income range.”

Cherry said she’d like to see the decades-old units “modernized,” including updating outdated electrical outlets that currently require an adapter to fit today’s technology.

“Because of the age, it’s an older apartment set up,” she said.

Fellow resident Sandra Brown said she hopes the complex’s parking areas, currently plagued by broken pavement, are addressed.

“And maybe they could put in new siding instead of just painting over everything,” she added.

A history of false starts at Brookhill

This isn’t the first time Brown, who’s lived at Brookhill for 11 years, has heard about possible upgrades.

“Before the pandemic, we were told that they were going to rebuild the whole area,” she said.

An unusual ownership structure at Brookhill — control over the buildings has been separate from the land itself — has snagged previous redevelopment efforts by hindering developers’ efforts to secure funding, The Charlotte Observer reported previously.

The city council rejected in 2020 spending $13 million to help preserve Brookhill Village, saying developers hadn’t met the necessary criteria for approval, the Observer reported at the time.

Charlotte businessman Mike Griffin, partner at Griffin Brothers Companies, took over the land lease for Brookhill in March 2022. He said at the time he planned to keep affordable housing on the property as well as develop commercial space.

Griffin and associates came to the county in February asking for money to help with their plans and still plan to develop “some type of market rate mixed-use development” on the parts of the 35-acre Brookhill property not taken up by affordable housing.

Preserving a ‘family’ atmosphere

Regardless of what changes occur, Brown hopes Brookhill maintains its sense of “community togetherness.”

“We’re all like family because we all know each other here,” she said.

Sitting on her front steps Monday, Cherry offered a similar sentiment.

She described her home as a place where neighbors quickly become friends and then family. Kids are constantly surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins — most of whom aren’t actually related by blood — and everyone is invited when there’s a birthday party.

“I hope this place never goes away,” she said. “It holds an innumerable amount of memories, for myself, for the people that grew up here … Everyone still comes back here.”