The proposal surfaced alongside a decision by the Old Well Owners Association, the homeowners association for Collins Crossing, to raise a $5,406 special assessment for each unit.
While the fee only applies to owners of the units, town officials worry the fee will be transferred to the complex’s primarily low-income residents through higher rents.
Alcurt owns more than half of the complex’s units.
Lavelle said she is excited at the prospect of protecting one of the few remaining affordable housing locations in Carrboro.
“We have been placing a lot of time and attention on the different groups that have owned the complex and helping them try to maintain affordability,” she said.
Lavelle said while she thinks taking over the property is a good idea, it still has to be explored legally.
“We aren’t sure what’s permitted,” she said. “But it’s something we are all interested in.”
Carrboro attorneys Michael Brough and Robert Hornik said they haven’t been directly contacted about the idea yet.
“Our involvement has been dealing with the enforcement of building codes (at Collins Crossing),” Brough said.
“I have not seen any such email, nor have I heard any discussion about the town taking over the property yet.”
Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said he is interested in looking into the possibility.
“It’s an interesting idea, and I think it’s worth looking into, but I’m not sure it’s all that likely,” Chilton said.
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But he said even if the town doesn’t move to take over the property, he believes Alcurt might still see some lawsuits from individual unit owners who are upset about also having to pay the new fee. Alcurt, as a primary owner, has considerable sway in setting homeowner’s association policies.
“It’s hard to expect owner occupants at Collins Crossing to come up with $5,000 when it’s probably the lowest income neighborhood in Carrboro,” he said. “I think the individual owners will seek some legal remedies.”
The town of Carrboro has also said it will pursue litigation against Alcurt if it doesn’t repair the complex’s 24 hazardous stairwells in a timely manner.
Chilton said he was disappointed with the way Alcurt reacted to the town’s mandate to fix the stairwells.
“I certainly agree that improvements are needed and that unit owners should pay for those, but N.C. law requires procedures,” he said. “This would not be a big deal to me if it was clear they had followed those procedures.”
Finding a precedent
Carrboro wouldn’t be the first town to provide local government-owned affordable housing options for residents.
In Aspen, Colo., many of the town’s full-time residents live in affordable housing units provided by the town.
“Affordable housing has been fundamental in keeping this a town that you can relate to,” said Tom McCabe, the executive director for the Aspen-Pitkin Housing Authority.
“Without our affordable housing program there would be very few full-time workers within city limits.”
But McCabe said he thinks Carrboro should not rush into this decision.
“Being dedicated to the process is a critical part,” he said. “They really need to think hard about their long-term objectives.”
Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.
