By Dana Bykowski
August 5, 2002

Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory hosted a CitiesFirstª Roundtable on May 29 in his city. The roundtable focused on finding ways to combat some of the affordable housing needs in Charlotte by bringing together local community leaders to the table. Kristin Faust, Director of Community Development & Real Estate for Nehemiah Corporation, represented CitiesFirstª.

"We believe in partnership", said Mayor McCrory. " We are so glad that the Conference of Mayors has partnered with the Nehemiah Corporation, and they are here today to offer their guidance and resources."

CitiesFirstª selected Charlotte to be one of their NULT (Nehemiah Urban Land Trust) cities. NULT is designed to acquire, manage and preserve housing for social service agencies that assist low-income, special needs families and individuals. By purchasing these properties, NULT is able to preserve the long-term use and affordability for the agency. In mid-July, Nehemiah Corporation of California and the city of Charlotte held an application session for local organizations seeking additional funding and housing resources for their clients. Ten organizations sent in Request for Proposals (RFP's) to the NULT program. NULT is now working with the city of Charlotte to choose an organization that will receive funding for the NULT project. As soon as that part of the process is completed, CitiesFirstª will work as quickly as possible with that organization to house those who are in need of a parSome of the other issues discussed at the roundtable centered on increasing education and awareness for homebuyers, improving the type of financial resources that are made available to organizations that help put people in homes, establishing specific smart growth policies that are homebuyer friendly, encourage people of various economic statuses to live in same neighborhoods, and fulfill the demands of special needs housing facilities.

Some of the other issues discussed at the roundtable centered on increasing education and awareness for homebuyers, improving the type of financial resources that are made available to organizations that help put people in homes, establishing specific smart growth policies that are homebuyer friendly, encourage people of various economic statuses to live in same neighborhoods, and fulfill the demands of special needs housing facilities.

"The issue of affordable housing itself is so complex. It is simply a challenge to define "affordable housing" when it encompasses so many things. We need to make sure we are spending money and allocating resources in the right way to the right programs for the residents of Charlotte," said Richard Hathcox, of the city of Charlotte Department of Neighborhood Development.

Participants included: Charlotte City Council, Youth Homes, Inc, Mechanics Farmers Bank, Centralina Development Corporation, Charlotte Regional Realtors Association, Charlotte Apartment Association, Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte, Charlotte Fannie Mae Partnership Office, Charlotte Emergency Housing, city of Charlotte Office Of Neighborhood Development, Charlotte Metropolitan Housing Partnership Board, Crossland, Inc., Urban League of Central Carolinas, Citizen Action, and Residential Support Services. For more information about CitiesFirstª please contact Dana Bykowski, located at The U.S. Conference of Mayors, at (202) 861-6764 or visit the website at www.cites1st.org.