Addressing Displacement: Working to Preserve Aging Homes

An outside view of the McClure family home, which was built by the late husband of Loretta McClure, Alfred McClure Jr., in the early 1960s.

This story by Destiniee Jaram first appeared on WFAE.com for QC Metro, part of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC), launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Knight Foundation.

Loretta McClure, 82, has lived in her north Charlotte home for more than 60 years; she and her late husband Alfred McClure Jr., raised their eight children there. But after decades of neglect, the ranch-style home had fallen into disrepair.

The floor was sinking, the roof was leaking, and termites had damaged the underlying structure, explained her daughter, Carol Green.

Desperate for assistance, Green, 59, applied to some of the Charlotte-based programs that offer critical home repairs. Ultimately, she received her repairs from Habitat for Humanity Charlotte Region.

Through four programs offering critical home repairs and accessibility modifications, Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte provides safe and healthy homes for neighbors in need. Providing such services allows more low-income residents to age safely in their homes without fear of displacement, a growing concern for many as the Charlotte housing market becomes more expensive.

A Growing Need

The focus on critical home repairs also reflects a growing realization: If Charlotte is to address its affordability issues, it must do more to preserve its current stock of aging homes, not just build new affordable units.

From 2014 to 2019, both rental rates and home prices outpaced income growth in Charlotte, according to a dashboard published by the city in February 2021.

While the median gross rent in Charlotte increased by 34%, the median household income rose by only 24%.

That imbalance has increased the rate of displacement for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, especially seniors and low-income residents living in historically Black neighborhoods, where rising property values have attracted gentrification and corporate landlords.

Neighborhood and Community Focus

In addition to our programs that tackle gentrification individually, the Building a Healthy Neighborhood program, combats gentrification and displacement on a community level.

Since launching the program in 2018, RTGC has repaired homes in the Camp Greene/Enderly Park, Druid Hills, Lakeview and Hidden Valley neighborhoods, said Beth Morrison, executive director of Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte.

To identify neighborhoods and homes in need of repair, the program uses community outreach, sending out postcards and attending community meetings.

Morrison said the outreach is not only crucial for finding neighborhoods in need but also for building trust with community residents, who may be hesitant to work with the nonprofit.

“It can really sound too good to be true for an organization that somebody might not have heard of before to say, ‘We will put $30,000 into your home in repairs and you don’t have to pay anything; it’s free,’” Morrison said.

In addition to home repairs, the program also invests in community-wide projects, like pavilions and walking trails.

Most recently, the program began work in its fourth Charlotte neighborhood, starting community conversations in the Hidden Valley community in March 2022.

So far, about 43 Hidden Valley homes have been approved for repairs, and work has been completed on 30, Morrison said. A second round of repairs will begin when work is completed on the first 43 homes.

Some of the community projects in Hidden Valley include building a seating area and painting a mural at Hidden Valley Elementary.

The cost to repair a home in Hidden Valley has averaged between $20,000 and $30,000, Morrison said, noting the impact of inflation.

Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte is funded through several government programs, including HUD, the city of Charlotte and corporate partners like Wells Fargo.

Once finished in Hidden Valley, Morrison said, the nonprofit will expand its work into east Charlotte neighborhoods.

Behind Every Front Door

There’s a homeowner with a story like Loretta McClure behind every front door. While a home should be a safe and healthy place we can rely on, that’s not the reality for many living in the Greater Charlotte area. Help us provide safe and healthy homes through no-cost repairs and modifications by making a gift today to support your neighbors in need.

To read the full story on addressing displacement and gentrification through critical home repairs, visit WFAE.com.