Publicly owned parcels of land could be the answer in some areas to affordable housing shortages, according to a report from Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit that works with partners to create affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income people. Public Benefit from Publicly Owned Parcels: Effective Practices in Affordable Housing Development theorizes that such parcels can expand affordable housing opportunities in strong housing markets and catalyze development in neighborhoods with less competition for land.
Noting that developing these parcels can present significant challenges in planning, soliciting proposals, selection and construction, the report identifies leading practices and recommendations for overcoming these and other hurdles. Always a hot topic for North Carolina’s municipalities, public land use was discussed earlier this year at an affordable housing forum in Charlotte as one of many options to meet the city council’s goal of adding or preserving 5,000 affordable housing units over the next three years.
