Sophia Sousa, News Writer 

Redhill Pointe Community. Image Credit: AHM, Inc. 

As inflation continues to rise, the unhoused population in Greensboro has increased. According to 2023 Guilford County data, 452 people in the county are experiencing what the government classifies as homelessness, both sheltered and unsheltered. The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency approved more than $43 million in December 2023 to develop additional housing, with $2.6 million going to Greensboro’s Affordable Housing Management (AHM) Inc.   

The City of Greensboro partnered with AHM to start the apartment development project last July when it approved roughly $1.7 million. With the additional state funding, AHM plans to begin construction on Oakwood Park off West Vandalia Road this summer. The state’s Housing Finance Agency awarded this aid through its Supportive Housing American Rescue Plan (SHARP), which was created to administer HOME-ARP funds from the American Rescue Plan of 2021. The SHARP program intends to offer “shelter, permanent housing, and assistance to people experiencing homelessness and other housing insecurity.”   

The NCHFA reports that there are four different qualifying categories for assistance from SHARP-funded organizations: people who are currently unhoused, those at risk of homelessness, people fleeing or attempting to flee due to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking, and those in unstable households. “The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is committed to supporting our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Scott Farmer, the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s executive director. “We are proud to create programs and provide funding to establish safe and affordable housing in communities statewide that can connect people with limited options to the services they need to lead happy, successful lives.”  

AHM is now funding a three-phase project to create affordable housing that involves the completed Redhill Pointe along with Vandalia Acres and Oakwood Park, which still need to be completed. The organization estimates that Oakwood Park will take 12 months to finish. Cynthia Blue, the assistant director for housing and strategy with the city’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, said, “The 16 new apartment homes are another step in the city’s ongoing efforts to partner in the provision of permanent supportive housing for homeless households and increase the affordable rental housing stock.”   

David Levy, the AHM executive director, reported that “there are a lot of resources to address homelessness. A lot of those are temporary housing situations. This is for permanent, so once somebody moves into one of these apartments’ homes, they can stay there as long as they want.” According to Dolan Reynolds at Fox8, Oakwood Park will have one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments available for households earning less than 50% of North Carolina’s median income, or around $35,000 for a family of three.  

Levy and others involved in the project hope to build more affordable housing in the future and potentially decrease the unhoused population in Greensboro. “The new apartment homes will be very attractive, have ample square footage, and be Energy Star certified providing better energy efficiency and performance resulting in lower utility and maintenance costs,” stated Levy in a press release. “The reduced electric cost and below market rents will provide extremely affordable homes near shopping, restaurants, services, major roads, and employment centers. Hester Park, a large city park offering many recreational amenities, is also located across the street.” AHM, in partnership with the Greensboro Urban Ministry, will determine the residents who will move into the 16 new units once construction is complete. AHM is optimistic that their work will help lessen the current housing issues.