Chapel Hill will begin work on a new affordable housing complex next summer. The Tanyard Branch Trace neighborhood is slated to be completed in 2025, funded in part by a Low Income Housing Tax Credit award.
However, the new complex may not meet all of the need—community members living in existing affordable housing units are still struggling.
Karen Antle lives in Kings Arms Apartments, a designated affordable housing community. She suffers from Fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, and is still waiting to get disability.
She pays 1,200 dollars for her two bedroom apartment, which she shares with her son, Luke.
Antle grew up in Chapel Hill and is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna. She said that she moved back to Chapel Hill to raise her son.
“It’s hard, being poor in Chapel Hill,” she said. “Like, I know like when Luke would go for playdates, he’d go from our little apartment to, like, a big mansion. And that’s hard for a kid, to see how other people are living.”
Antle has lived at Kings Arms Apartments for eight years. She said her rent goes up by 20 percent every year.