Habitat for Humanity NC and pastors strike deal on ‘deeply affordable’ housing

After 18 months of sometimes uncomfortable conversations about race, a group of Orange County pastors and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County have reached agreement on a plan to help 10 low-income families buy homes in Habitat’s new Auman Village townhome community under construction in Hillsborough.

The pastors, who are also members of Orange County Justice United, and Habitat are longtime affordable housing allies, but had been at odds over a minimum income requirement of more than $60,000 to purchase an Auman Village home. The pastors told NC Newsline in February that the requirement would price low-wage earners out of the 75-unit townhome development, which is located near an historic African American community.

“It’s been my hope and desire that when you are planning to build within the community, allow the community to live in the community,” said Rev. Tony Boss, senior pastor of the 138-year-old Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church, which is about a mile from Auman Village.

Boss initially asked for homes to be set aside for members of his congregation, but said in February that all African Americans with modest incomes should have a chance to buy homes in Auman Village.

Jennifer Player, Habitat’s president and CEO, said Habitat and the pastors made progress on a plan to serve low-income residents after she stopped looking at the issue as a math problem.

“In my mind, we had to start connecting our heart and our brain,” Player told NC Newsline. “Our brain was saying this is a math problem, but our heart was saying, gosh, it really feels — you know, we really wish we could do the work for this group of people.”

As housing prices climb due to higher land and construction costs, Habitat officials in Orange County and across the country say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to serve people earning 30% of area media income, which is about $34,350 for Orange County. 

They expressed reservations about lowering the minimum income requirement out of concern that a homebuyer would later be unable to pay the mortgage.

But Boss noted that some low-wage earners pay more in rent than he pays for his mortgage and still manage to “keep a roof over their heads.”

“It lets me know that if they had that opportunity to the American dream, if it was presented to them, they would be able to afford it because they are already doing it,” Boss said.

On Sunday, Boss and other pastors joined Habitat officials at Mt. Zion AME Church to announce the “Heaven Practice Housing” initiative to raise $2 million to subsidize mortgages for low-income families who buy homes in Auman Village. The money raised will offset the sales price for 10 townhomes to keep mortgages for them affordable for families. 

Rev. Cameron Barr, senior pastor of United Church of Chapel Hill, reminded the crowd that Orange County is one of the wealthiest in the state.

“So this isn’t good, and it doesn’t look good and it doesn’t feel good to any of us,” Barr said. “There are people suffering in Orange County, and it’s looking like we don’t care enough to do anything to change it.”

Habitat for Humanity and area pastors at odds over affordable housing

Barr said the goal is to make “deeply affordable” housing available to people who earn well under the Habitat’s minimum income requirement.

He said that the money raised would help, for example, a family of three earning $34,350 or a family of two with an annual income of $40,000 to afford to purchase a home in Auman Village. Those are the salaries of nursing assistants, the housekeeping staff at UNC Chapel Hill, and assistant teachers and school nutrition service managers in Orange County Schools, Barr said.

He also pointed out that the median income for a white family in Orange County is $99,961, while it’s just $52,121 for African American households.

“That is almost a $50,000 spread between the median white and the medium black household income in our county,” Barr said. “This is not right, and we know that as the cost of housing goes up, the effects on African American households are especially severe, and that is followed by the effects on Hispanic households and Latino households.”

Judit Alvarado, a current Habitat homeowner, said homeownership changed her life.

“It gave us peace of mind, security and the ability to focus on our future instead of constantly worrying about housing,” Alvarado said.

Becoming a homeowner also deepened her family’s connection to the community, she said.

“The one thing that I wish more people understood is that families who need deeply affordable housing are not looking for a handout,” Alvarado said. “We are looking for a chance to create stability for our families and to put down roots and build a greater future.”