Burlington Housing Authority breaks ground on Hope Village affordable housing

Burlington Housing Authority broke ground Friday on Hope Village, a new affordable housing development planned for the corner of North Church Street and Ireland Street and planned to house about 40 people.

The project will redevelop about 2.1 acres that have sat underused for years into 12 duplexes with one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, including some that will be accessible for residents with disabilities. Burlington Housing Authority CEO Veronica Revels said the agency wants to create more affordable housing for people who need it most, especially families moving out of homelessness or unstable housing and looking for a place they can stay long term.

The housing authority has already secured roughly $3.9 million through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to help pay for the work. Revels said the goal is permanent housing rather than public housing, with support built around stability instead of a temporary stopgap. Burlington Housing Authority plans to partner with Allied Churches of Alamance County to identify and place residents and provide wraparound services.

Those services are expected to include help with Medicaid, food assistance, employment, counseling and mental-health access. Allied Churches, which operates an emergency shelter, empowerment center and community kitchen in Burlington, also runs a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week emergency shelter for homeless men, women and children in Alamance County.

The site has also been given the street name Hope Lane. The location sits inside the broader North Church Street Area Plan corridor, where the City of Burlington is studying housing, businesses, infrastructure, sidewalks and city- and county-owned properties, including schools and parks.

Burlington Housing Authority has been a city housing body for decades. It was incorporated by the North Carolina Secretary of State on May 1, 1967. The agency directs federal housing projects within Burlington.