WINSTON-SALEM HOUSING AUTHORITY SUPPORTS PRINCEVILLE IN REBUILD EFFORTS
Pioneer Court apartments to be preserved
November 11, 2021 (Winston-Salem, NC)
Thanks in a large part to the efforts of the Winston-Salem Housing Authority, the Princeville Housing Authority is well on its way to recovering from the devastation wrought by 2017’s Hurricane Matthew. The Princeville Housing Authority has recently gone under contract with Telfair Rentals, LLC for the sale of the Pioneer Court community, which will result in the preservation of existing affordable housing and the development of new affordable housing in the expanded Town footprint. Following Hurricane Matthew’s destruction, the Princeville Housing Authority was left with a Board but no staff. The Winston-Salem Housing Authority stepped in to assume day-to-day operations pursuant to a HUD-approved management agreement. Since that time, the sister agencies have been working to obtain HUD approval for the transfer of ownership of Pioneer Court apartments. That approval was granted earlier this year, but the parties had to come to terms with the buyer - a local, minority-owned development firm, Telfair Rentals, LLC, which process was brought to a completion earlier this month. Telfair will renovate the vacant, storm-damaged apartments and bring them back online. This preservation of much-needed affordable housing within the historical downtown area was a consequence of the Winston-Salem Housing Authority’s advocacy efforts. But for those efforts, the property would have been demolished. Equally importantly, under the arrangement approved by HUD, the Princeville Housing Authority retains the right to develop new housing in the expanded Town footprint with the support of federal operating and capital subsidy. Closing on the Pioneer Court sale is projected for the first quarter of 2022.
