Chapel Hill affordable housing development receives N.C. tax credit

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency awarded the developers of Longleaf Trace, one of the Town of Chapel Hill's affordable housing projects, a ninepercent tax credit on Aug. 28. 

The 2024 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) award is a highly competitive, one-time award, Sarah Viñas, director of affordable housing and community connections for the Town, said.  LIHTC awards aim to incentivize developers to rent out apartments at affordable prices. 

Longleaf Trace's apartment rentals are affordable housing units for adults over the age of 55 who earn 60 percent or less of Orange County’s area median income (AMI) — less than $63,540 annually. 

President of Taft-Mills Group Dustin Mills said there will be a total of 48 units at Longleaf Trace. Twelve of the units will be one-bedroom apartments and the rest will be two bedrooms, he said. 

 Viñas said the tax credit award provides $11 million that make the project financially feasible. 

Construction is expected to start in the fall of 2025 and will be completed in the winter of 2027, Viñas said.

Why is Longleaf Trace in the works?

The goal of the project is to supply much-needed, affordable housing in Chapel Hill, according to a statement from the partnering developers, Taft-Mills Group and Community Home Trust. 

Mayor Jess Anderson said in an email statement that creating affordable housing is extremely expensive and that to be an inclusive community, Chapel Hill needs to offer a diversity of housing options.

"Ensuring that Chapel Hill is an inclusive community has been a high priority and something I have worked hard on since I first ran for Council in 2015," Anderson said. 

She said to make Town investments go further, the Council works hard to leverage funding resources.

There is a need for approximately 1,900 units of affordable housing for low-income residents of Chapel Hill according to a 2024 report by Viñas' department. 

Where is Longleaf Trace located?

The Longleaf Trace units will be located along and to the South and East of Legion Road in Chapel Hill.

"The residents who will live at Longleaf Trace will benefit by having the opportunity to live in a newly constructed community that's well located and provides affordable housing in a time when affordable housing is so hard to find," Mills said.

Kimberly Sanchez, executive director at Community Home Trust, said to be competitive in the nine percent tax credit awarding process, location is a big factor to consider.

"We thought that a development on that particular site would be ideal because it's in close proximity to grocery stores, shopping, banking and retail," Mills said. 

How did the project get approved?

The Longleaf Trace project was unanimously approved by the town council in April.

Viñas said Longleaf Trace is the first project to get approved by the Town's expedited review process. 

This process approves housing proposals that commit to including at least 25 percent of the units as affordable, and it aims to incentivize the creation of more affordable housing for residents. 

"This was the first project to go through that process, and [it] received approval in four months, which was much faster than the town has done historically," Viñas said. 

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