On Thursday, December 13th, DHIC, in partnership with Presbytery of New Hope, and The Presbyterian Homes, Inc., announced their plans for a 150-unit affordable housing community for low-income seniors, in East Raleigh. This community will be built on the 4.6-acre site of the now-closed Milner Memorial Presbyterian Church, which is located at the corner of New Bern Avenue and King Charles Road. The Presbytery is providing a 75-year ground lease to a joint venture formed by DHIC and PHI for a minimal sum.
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why? That parcel could support 400 units with blend of market rate AND affordable housing but the city & DHIC are proceeding with 150 units solely for low income seniors…WTH
Yeah low-income seniors, sounds horrible. Jesus dude.
He’s not wrong though. We could have both.
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New Neighborhood Meeting set up for 12/15 for rezoning the huge empty plot at 600 New Bern to 7 stories mixed-use.
https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/the-raleigh-wire-service/748/2133?u=oakcityyimby
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Wow. That property may finally see some movement. Adding this to my calendar.
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The church decided this when they dissolved
With membership on the decline, it was important to the members of Milner Memorial that the land, donated by Henry Herman Milner in 1953, remain a place where serving the community was celebrated. After much discussion, it was decided that the congregation would dissolve and the land would revert to the Presbytery of New Hope with the understanding that it would be used for affordable housing for seniors of modest means.
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The City could have easily worked with the church to encourage a higher & greater use than an apartment that looks like it was built in 1978
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The city can’t even keep up with the work it’s required to do, but you think they should have butted in to tell a church and DHIC to build a bigger, denser apartment building? Ok
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The City 'butts in" on EVERY development project. They partially influence what DHIC can actually do…anywhere. It’s a public process for rezoning, etc. Now the church could have just built what they have ‘by right’ which doesn’t require ‘quite’ as much City Council involvement…but they City oversees the UDO for starters so they already ‘butted in’. Further, given the church had run out of money because their membership had dwindled, a 5 or 7 story structure with higher density would yield a much higher rate of return than what’s being constructed…which of itself is a bit baffling. Personally, I do think the City should have gotten more engaged with this parcel. It’s in a key transit corridor and what’s being built could have been constructed in Apex.
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maybe the new council is reading this?
Old peeps like quiet and calm. Need green space for strolling and bird watching. Don’t stack me up like plywood when I’m old.
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You forgot to add the word “some” at the beginning of your post. 
Let’s go with most. If you ever get a chance to visit Glenwood towers you may agree it’s not an ideal place to spend your waning years.
Well, there’s lots of space between the contexts of Glenwood Towers and green space with bird watching.
My elderly mother lives in a lovely green neighborhood on a culdesac in the burbs and feels completely trapped and isolated.
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The old folks in the North Hills Cardinal seem pretty happy with their lot. Different strokes for different folks. Most of my older relatives live in cities - they don’t want to feel exiled from the world and like having all the services they need next door (because old people and cars… yikes).
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Yes, you pay for it. New Bern is for affordable low income . Not the same. Don’t compare the two.
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Well, we don’t have a newer urban low-income development to compare it to. Raleigh’s pretty short on dense senior housing in general.
Glenwood Towers is old and doesn’t appear to be particularly incredibly well maintained. And a denser version of the New Bern plot wouldn’t be a 70s-style Brutalist tower in a parking lot - I think we all were advocating a sort of mixed-use development.
Basically all of the local comparisons are flawed, but in general there’s a spectrum of old folks that need vibrancy and younger people around for their lives to feel complete, and some that want that staring at birds and trees vibe.
Also, literally anything that reduces old people’s dependence on cars is a huge safety benefit for them and the community.
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i used to deliver medical equipment to many of the senior living areas in raleigh… 18 years ago. most had regular shuttle bus trips to various activities and sites in town…pretty good variety for those unable to drive. heritage comes to mind on carlos and falls of neuse. it had sidewalked neighborhood for walking and was right beside north ridge shopping center. if an income based senior facility comes to new bern i would expect shuttle trips to the greenway.
There is quite a bit to unpack in this discussion. For those who don’t know, the City has purchased a chunk of land adjacent (across Russ Street) to the church property for additional affordable housing units. I don’t know the terms of the partnership between the Presbytery and DHIC, but it is my understanding that the Presbytery still owns the land and DHIC is partnering in management and planning. The builder is also the one who built Glenaire in Cary and has partnered with the Prebytery on different housing projects.
I have lived in Raleigh for 60+ years. Glenwood Towers was built in 1971 and primarily housed Black residents who had been removed from housing in Raleigh’s 4th Ward during Urban Renewal under the premise that housing would be rebuilt in that area. Capital Towers on Six Forks Road was built in 1972. These were the first apartment complexes built specifically for seniors in this area. At that period of time, Raleigh had not really experienced desegregation in housing and thus two facilities on opposite sides of town were built.
I was quite surprised when I took my parents to look at senior living facilities in the Raleigh/Wake County area. The costs were prohibitive to me (in 2014 starting around $3,000/month and up), and unless one had a sizeable retirement income or private funds, would have been quite prohibitive for many people in this area. Most of my Black friends parents have either taken care of their elders in house or hired someone to stay with them during the day and they take care of them at night, unless they have to be in rehab facilities.
My parents were able to afford long-term care insurance (and that cost is prohibitive as well and has its own drawbacks. My father was fortunate to have insurance with no time limit on care, but my mother’s had a 2 year limit.) The last 1 1/2 years of his life was spent at The Cardinal at North Hills, right after they opened the assisted living wing. The cost of care in 2017 for his monthly rent was about $3,200. 2 month after he moved in, he suffered a stroke. After leaving the hospital, he was housed in The Cardinal’s rehab facility, which bumped his costs up $1,000 a month. Upon return to his apartment, we were required to employ additional care by the facility although his only change was to be on a walker. After agreeing to 12 hour care, our costs for him increased to about $13,000/month, with only the 2/3 of the original lease costs being paid from his long term care insurance. His carefully put away funds were rapidly eaten up.
Ideal and old are relative terms. If you are white and have had the option to purchase a home in a neighborhood that has larger lots and could build your generational wealth from there, you have a lot more choice than if 1) you were never able to afford to purchase a house, much less long term care insurance, or to have medical insurance that wasn’t government sponsored welfare, and 2) you were still regulated as to where you were able to purchase a home even in a city that didn’t have “redlining” in fact, but in practice.
There is so much more at play than the density of housing here in Raleigh and you should be willing to learn the facts before you completely create your opinions,.
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