WS Chronicle

City Council scheduled to vote on May 5 

Earlier this week the Winston-Salem City Council listened to recommendations from staff on how to move forward with available lots for the development of affordable housing. If the recommendation is approved as is, the city could invest more than $6 million to create more affordable housing.  

Here’s what we know: In response to a comprehensive study completed in 2018 that showed the City of Winston-Salem had a significant shortage in affordable housing, and several other studies on how to increase affordable housing options for residents, in 2022 the city created the Affordable Housing Program.  

To help support the development of affordable housing throughout the Winston-Salem, city officials adopted the Affordable Housing Development (AHD) program. The program is designed to offer flexibility for contractors and developers to create and preserve affordable rental and owner-occupied housing.  

The Process  

Last Fall, the city council voted to make changes to the AHD program. The changes included adopting an application process where interested individuals and groups can apply for help from the city to create affordable housing. 

Applications for the AHD program were due on Jan. 24, for both the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) process for multi-family units and the city-owned single-family parcels. According to Shantell McClam, neighborhood services director, in total they received 50 proposals from two dozen different developers. McClam said 26 of the proposals they received were “responsive.” 

McClam explained that non-responsive proposals were received after the deadline, were in an unapproved format when submitted, were incomplete, or had conflicting information in the application and accompanying documents.  

After determining which applications were responsive, McClam’s team and Housing Development staff reviewed applications. From there, the Affordable Housing Development evaluation team scored applicants based on certain criteria, including development quality, financial feasibility, development and management team, Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) participation, and supportive services.  

“This is not a process that we took lightly. This is a process that took us two and a half days because some of these proposals had as many as 200 pages,” McClam said. “We wanted to make sure that we looked at every page that was submitted to us; we knew this was the first cycle and it was important for us to try to get it right.”  

Proposals were then sent to the City’s Affordable Housing Coalition which was formed in 2019 to articulate strategies that improve the quality and increase the quantity of affordable housing, equip people to better afford and access housing, assist in the development of additional straits to support affordable homeownership opportunities, and help identify and secure sustainable, long-term resources for affordable housing.  

The Recommendations  

The proposals that made it through the vetting process and to the city council included four LIHTC proposals from Greenway Residential Development LLC, Workforce Solutions, Poplar Development Group, and Central Developers LLC. For the city-owned lots, C2 Contractors LLC, Green Tech Properties LLC, Denton Construction Services, and Switzer Homes LLC made cut.  

When it came time to make recommendations, McClam suggested that the city award all four LIHTC projects, which includes four different multi-family developments located in different areas of the city. Total gap financing for all four LIHTC projects would be about $6,465,000. 

LIHTC funding is allocated by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency. Developers seeking credits must submit an application for each rental property to be considered. When discussing the decision to recommend all four LIHTC projects, McClam said it’s unlikely for a city the size of Winston-Salem to be awarded four LIHTC projects, and without the support from the city it’s doubtful developers would receive funding.    

For the city-owned lots, city staff recommended awarding Switzer Homes seven parcels in the East and Northeast wards and $195,000 in gap funding. In their proposal, Switzer has outlined plans to build two-story, 1,437 sq. ft. single-family homes with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, and a garage for a sale price of $240,000.  

The recommendation includes five parcels and $175,000 in gap funding for C2 contractors. The proposal they submitted includes plans for three-bedroom, two-bath, ranch-style single-family homes in East Winston. The designs, which will be approximately 1,152 sq. ft., come with a covered porch and a fireplace. The sale price is listed as $238,338.  

Staff recommended that Denton Construction Services be awarded all 10 lots they requested in their proposal and $350,000 in gap funding. Their plan is to build 400 sq. ft. energy efficient studio homes. These mini homes will include a covered porch, tankless water heaters, and customizable exteriors to fit community character. Rent rates will be around $800 according to the proposal submitted to the city.  

The proposal from Green Tech was declined. Staff recommended that the developer resubmit the proposal with improved designs during the next application process, which will open in June.  

The Next Steps  

Although city officials didn’t vote on the proposals, they did have the opportunity to make comments about the recommendations. Mayor Pro Tem Denise “DD” Adams said she was excited to see the progress they have made. 

Adams, who was appointed to the 2025 National League of Cities (NLC) Federal Advocacy Committee, said while attending workshops in Washington, D.C. last week, city officials across the country were talking about a plan like the one Winston-Salem already has in place. Adams said to create more affordable housing opportunities, collaboration will be key.  

“I’m excited, it’s been a long road, but we can finally see some of the progress,” Adams said.  

Recommendations will be discussed again on April 14, during the Community Development/Housing/General Government Committee meeting. At that time developers will have the opportunity to discuss their proposals and answer any questions from city council members. 

The full council is scheduled to vote on the recommendations on May 5.