Hendersonville has seen a recent surge in apartment development projects amid the need for more housing locally and across the country.

But the problem isn’t just finding an apartment, it’s finding one that is affordable.

Housing is defined as “affordable” by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development when residents pay no more than 30% of their gross income for housing costs, including utilities.

Workforce housing is typically referred to by government officials, developers and real estate agents as the amount residents can afford and who earn 60 to 120% of the median average market income. In Hendersonville, it’s $ 25,650 to $ 55,000 a year.

Since 2016, 174 market-priced, affordable and labor-intensive apartments have been built in the city – Oklawaha Village, Gray Mill and Signal Ridge. As of Friday, no apartments were available at any of these complexes. Oklawaha and Gray Mill have waiting lists.

The city council, since 2016, has approved the construction of 188 apartments. Another 881 have been proposed and are in various stages of the zoning review or amendment process.

A market study, initiated by the NC Housing Finance Agency and released in March, found that 1,100 apartments are needed in the affordable housing lineup in Hendersonville, according to Joy Strassel, executive director of Western NC Housing Partnership.

“Demand is off the charts,” added Strassel.

Apartments put on the market are rented out in 90 days or less. The social housing tax credit is fiercely competitive among developers. About 20% of applications are approved each year, Strassel said.

Henderson County’s vacancy rate is 0.8% and is zero for the social housing tax credit, according to Strassel.

Many apartment developments have waiting lists, including Gray Mill Apartments and all Housing Assistance Corp. complexes. based in Hendersonville. The non-profit company developed and owns Oklawaha Village.

Mills Construction, developer of Duncan Terrace Apartments, has “significant” waiting lists at all of its North Carolina properties, according to construction development manager Bobby Funk. The company is working with WNC Housing Partnership on the project.

Council approved Duncan Terrace in March, and at its July 1 meeting passed a resolution in support of Mills Construction’s federal tax credit claim to the NC Housing Finance Agency.

“These 84 units represent only about less than 5% of the overall demand in the housing market of this type,” Funk said. “There is an overwhelming demand for units in this affordability bracket and we have found that to be the case with the most recent development we have built in the area, which is in Arden which opened in 2019. . “

Challenges

“We are really seeing an increase in demand, especially with rising construction prices and more housing available for people who work here and can’t afford to live here anymore,” Ashlynn said. McCoy, Executive Director of Housing Assistance Corp. .

Real estate developers across the country have felt the impact over the past year of rising costs for building materials, especially lumber, Funk said. The increase is due to COVID-19 causing plant closures or slowing production and increasing demand.

Lumber prices rose more than 250% from April 2020 to April 2021, according to Business Insider.

The availability and cost of land are also challenges for the construction of new housing projects in Hendersonville since the city is landlocked.

Affordable housing developments must be located on land and in locations that meet the “very strict” requirements of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, including within a mile of a grocery store and shops, discount stores and a pharmacy.

In the works

The following apartment designs have been approved by City Council and are in various stages of final approval by Planning Division staff or under construction:

• White Pine Villas: 78 apartments classified as affordable senior housing. A final site plan was not submitted for approval.
• West Avenue Villas: 10 market-priced apartments for rent and for sale. A final site plan was not submitted for approval.
• 8th Avenue Apartments: 16 apartments at market price. In construction.
• Duncan Terrace: 84 affordable apartments. A final site plan was not submitted for approval.

Proposed apartments

• Universal at Lakewood: 291 apartments at market price. The final plans are under review.
• Beacon Commons: addition of 14 condominiums at market rate which will be put up for sale. A rezoning request has been filed.
• Waterleaf in Flat Rock: 276 apartments at market price. The project is expected to be presented to the Tree Council on July 20 and to the Planning Council on August 9 before being submitted to City Council for review.
• Hawthorne on Haywood / 191: 263 apartments at market price. A neighborhood compatibility meeting was suspended on June 17 and will meet again. A date for this has not been set.

Lurah Lowery is the education and municipal government watchdog reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News, part of the USA Today Network. Email him at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @lurahlowery and Facebook.com/lurahjournalist.