By Cody Mello-Klein | cmelloklein@alextimes.com
Wesley Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, announced on Tuesday that it had acquired Parc Square Apartments in Chirilagua with the express purpose of preserving affordability in the neighborhood, according to a news release.
The six-building, 66-unit complex is located at 602 and 604 Notabene Drive in Arlandria-Chirilagua, the city’s majority Latinx neighborhood. Longstanding fears of gentrification and residents of the neighborhood being priced out and forced to relocate have become more real, with housing prices in the area continuing to rise, in part due to the arrival of Amazon’s HQ2.
Given these pressures, the developer aims to “secure the community as a long-term affordable housing asset,” according to the release.
The $12.5 million acquisition marks a partnership between Wesley Housing and Amazon, which helped finance the purchase with a $2.3 million grant from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. A condition of Amazon’s grant is that the 66 units will remain as affordable housing for at least 99 years. The remaining $10.26 million in funding comes from a Housing Partnership Fund acquisition loan.
According to the release, Wesley Housing will take “immediate steps to address life safety issues and improve habitability for existing residents,” with plans for a long-term, multi-phased redevelopment of Parc Square, the adjacent Wesley-owned Beverly Park Apartments and several properties owned by local nonprofit Community Lodgings.
Located in and serving Chirilagua for 34 years, Community Lodgings will partner with Wesley Housing and spearhead efforts to provide services to Parc Square and Beverly Park residents, according to the release.
