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After hours of emotional testimony and deliberations, the Cary Town Council tabled a proposal that would have let the Raleigh Housing Authority acquire and preserve 340 affordable apartments at Amberwood at Lochmere.
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Dozens of residents packed the Town Council Chambers on Thursday night to voice concerns and support for the acquisition. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht repeatedly asked the audience to quiet down during the tense hearing.
Under state law, the housing authority had to get Cary’s approval before acquiring property outside its jurisdiction. The proposal would have allowed the authority to purchase the 31-acre property at 100 Eclipse Drive and keep the apartments affordable for at least 30 years.
Amberwood at Lochmere has 340 one- to three-bedroom apartments and is home to about 314 Cary households. The property is considered naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), meaning it is not subsidized but offers rents below market rates.
The average rent at Amberwood is $1,510 per month, which is considered affordable for households earning about 52% of the Raleigh-Cary area median income (AMI), according to data shared by Heather Whelehan, Cary’s director of planning and community development.
Properties like Amberwood can face different outcomes when they are sold. A private investor could renovate the property and raise rents, potentially displacing residents, or allow the property to decline through deferred maintenance, Whelehan said.
The Raleigh Housing Authority’s planned to prevent those outcomes by keeping all units affordable for low- and moderate-income households earning 80% AMI or below, with at least 51% of units reserved for low-income households earning 60% AMI or less.
The authority also said it would limit rent increases and invest in maintenance and renovations as units become available.
RHA already serves Cary residents through its housing programs, according to RHA CEO Ashley Lommers-Johnson, including more than 400 Cary residents on its waiting list and 211 Cary households receiving Section 8 vouchers.
“The folks who live in these properties are people who work, who are teachers, child care workers and other essential workers who work in Cary,” Lommers-Johnson said. “We want to make sure that those people who are living there now will continue to be able to live there through the housing authority’s efforts.”
The Town Council received 144 written comments submitted by email, while many residents spoke during the public hearing.
Most residents who spoke opposed the proposal, citing concerns about the housing authoreity’s tax-exempt status and whether the property would be subject to the same standards as private owners.
Nancy Joyner-Kay, a Lochmere resident, said she supports mixed-income housing but argued Amberwood’s existing architectural and landscaping covenants have helped preserve the complex for decades. She questioned whether those protections would stay in place under housing authority ownership.
“You would essentially be creating a town within a town,” Joyner-Kay said.
Other residents pointed to safety and crime as reasons for opposing the proposal.
Dr. Elena Morgan, who lives across from Amberwood, said her review of crime statistics near Raleigh Housing Authority properties in Raleigh made her concerned about bringing the agency into Cary, directing council members to “leave” Amberwood “alone.”
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Supporters argued the acquisition was an opportunity to preserve affordable housing as rising costs make it harder for residents to stay in Cary.
Mary Kintz, a St. Paul’s Episcopal Church staff member and ONE Wake strategy team member, shared how she supported an affordable housing proposal near her home decades ago but stayed silent after neighbors pushed back. She said many of the same concerns raised then are still being discussed today.
“We have got to stop blaming people for the hardships that the system keeps piling on them,” said Kintz.
For Lochmere resident Carla Liberatore, finding affordable housing in Durham after her family faced financial hardship helped her family get back on their feet. Speaking through near tears and interrupted several times by audience members, she said it “saved [her] life.”
Council members questioned the housing authority about concerns raised by residents, including the proposal’s timeline, property covenants, management plans and funding.
Jason Morrow, the authority’s director of acquisitions and strategic partnerships, said the agency had “no reason to believe” Amberwood’s existing covenants would not remain in place under its ownership.
Properties are generally subject to existing covenants after a change in ownership, Town Attorney Lisa Glover added, though the housing authority would need to confirm that with its own legal counsel.
Morrow also said the authority intended to keep Greystar, Amberwood’s current management company, in place and that the $2 million used for due diligence came from RHA’s own funds, not Raleigh taxpayer money.
When it came time to vote, several council members said their hesitation toward the proposal was due to the limited time they had to review it and answer residents’ questions, rather than opposition to affordable housing itself.
“In the future, if you want to work with the Cary Council, you have to work with the public first,” Weinbrecht said.
Other council members said they still had unanswered questions about the proposal despite supporting efforts to preserve affordable housing in Cary.
Michelle Craig and Brittany Richards were among the members who supported moving forward with the proposal in deliberations, saying preserving Amberwood would help sustain affordable housing for current residents.
“This is, in my opinion, not a tax loss, but an investment,” Craig said.
The council ultimately voted 5-2 to table the proposal. The authority said delaying the vote would be equivalent to rejecting the proposal because the agency needed a decision before Monday.
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