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CASPN Homes--Charlie Miller Complex
Asheboro, North Carolina

CASPN Homes residents have use of outdoor balconies on each floor.

Asheboro is a city of 18,500 residents in central North Carolina. In the early 1990s, there was a noticeable lack of affordable housing for the low-income elderly population in the city and surrounding Randolph County. In 1994, the Asheboro Housing Authority was able to subdivide some land it owned to create and donate a centrally located four-acre site. The Authority then embarked on a development process that resulted in the creation of CASPN Homes, a 50-unit complex for low-income elderly people.

The Asheboro Housing Authority manages 150 family and 50 elderly public housing units. The authority also manages Wainman Homes, 40 units of HUD-subsidized elderly housing it developed in the 1970s. HUD allowed the Wainman Homes mortgage to be paid off early, resulting in an accumulation of cash reserves that could be used to pay some of the CASPN Homes development costs.

The $3.9 million development required a variety of funding sources. The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) provided an allocation of low-income housing tax credits and a $950,000 HOME loan. The tax credits were purchased by the North Carolina Affordable Housing Equity Corporation, a consortium of financial institutions, and generated more than $1.8 million in equity for the project. Randolph Bank and Trust, a local lender that had handled other accounts for the Housing Authority, provided permanent financing. Randolph Bank also successfully applied to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta for an Affordable Housing Program grant for the project.

Additional funding was necessary to make site improvements before development could proceed. Through the state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the City of Asheboro obtained $60,500 to build a road to the site and provide curbs and gutters.

Construction of the three-story building began in June 1997 and was completed in July 1998. In addition to the 50 one-bedroom units, there is a central dining room, a large activity room, a beauty salon, a room for monthly physical examinations, spacious common areas, and laundry facilities on each floor. The units rent for $367 per month, including utilities, and all either comply with Section 501 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or are easily adaptable to those standards. The building was fully occupied by December 1998 and currently has a waiting list.

CASPN Homes was a complex project that presented many challenges for the Housing Authority, a developer with limited experience. A committed and technically proficient development team was key to the successful completion of the project. As the developer, the Housing Authority staff expended considerable effort to ensure that the architect, contractor, and legal and financial consultants had extensive experience and a proven track record in projects of this type. As a result, there has been a significant addition to the affordable housing stock in Asheboro, helping to meet a critical need.