The latest large-scale Habitat for Humanity project in Orange County broke ground last week.
Leaders with the local governments, housing advocacy groups, the school system and Habitat itself gathered on June 12 to formally begin the work on Auman Village, a townhome community in Hillsborough. The project, which has been in the works since the nonprofit purchased the 10.9 acres of land off U.S. Highway 70A and east of Meadowlands Drive, aims to bring 75 townhome units to southeast Hillsborough.
As the Orange County branch is doing with its Weavers Grove neighborhood in Chapel Hill, Auman Village aims to be a mixed-income neighborhood — but President Jennifer Player said this also represents a newer model for the nonprofit. For this project, the nonprofit will build all 75 units with 60 being reserved for traditional Habitat homebuyers (residents at 30-80% of the Area Median Income) and the 15 others being up for sale to people at 120% AMI.
“We went back and forth,” Player told 97.9 The Hill, “on [the approach of] ‘we could do what we did in Weavers Grove and sell the lots to a builder, or we could build them and sell these homes to also a demographic of folks who can’t afford to buy a home when the median home price is $600,000, $700,000.’
“We know that [selling] those homes will bring in additional revenue that will help subsidize the affordable units, which is much-needed,” she continued, “But we also felt like there’s this group of people [which feels] this squeeze between the market [of] the market rate and affordable. There are people in the middle who aren’t either — they make too much income [to qualify for affordable housing]. One of the ways I’ve been looking at it is with our traditional model, we might be serving whose a single mom who’s a teacher in the school system, and in this community it might be two teachers in the school system — people who are making that [amount] with two incomes, or someone making more with a professional-level income, but still not making enough to afford to buy a home.”
Speakers during the groundbreaking’s program line up to start digging on Auman Village on Thursday, June 12. (Photo via Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.)
A general site plan for Habitat’s Auman Village. (Photo via Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.)
The funding for Auman Village is also non-traditional, as Habitat is receiving a special loan from the State Employees Credit Union to begin construction. Part of a pilot project with the state chapter of Habitat, the nonprofit will use a $2 million loan with a 0% interest rate alongside starting a capital campaign to bridge the rest of the funding gap. The Town of Hillsborough is helping with that, having committed $400,000 to Habitat for Humanity, and the Orange County government invested $800,000.
“Habitat has a solid track record of working in Hillsborough, building over 100 affordable homes in our community. Including on Odie Street in the Fairview community and the senior housing project Crescent Magnolia, which we completed and dedicated several years ago,” said Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell in a release. “The addition of Auman Village will significantly increase our housing supply and help more residents to be able to stay in Hillsborough.”
The neighborhood’s name is in honor of the prior property owners, the Auman family. Glenn and Henrietta Auman bought the land in 1939 and built a home where they lived until Henrietta’s death in 2003. The pair were long-time Orange County Schools educators, with Glenn known for developing the Industrial Cooperative Training (ICT) program at Orange High School and being a sports coach, and Henrietta starting the school’s professional Food Services program. Habitat for Humanity was approached by family members about using the land and completed its purchase in December 2020.
In addition to being walking distance from the Orange County Sportsplex and a short drive from shopping centers and Interstate 85, Auman Village will aim to offer several amenities to keep residents on-site. Early project renderings show a pavilion for events, a playground, a dog park and other communal spaces to “foster interaction and build a strong, connected community,” according to Habitat for Humanity.
“This community will have income diversity, age diversity,” Player added. “We’re going to have some two-bedroom units, we’ll have some empty-nesters and single folks who need housing. We’re going to build ADA-accessible units, so we may be doing some supportive housing from a disability standpoint.”
With the groundbreaking behind them, Habitat for Humanity will move forward with its contractor – Sunrock – getting started on initial infrastructure installation over the next 12 to 18 months before then doing its vertical build.
“Now’s the time when you see the land, and then every time you go, there are things that are changing,” Player said. “We’ll be doing a lot of site tours over the next year so people can come out and they can envision what this might be, and they can get involved, get engaged in the project, and make it happen for Hillsborough.”
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