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Charlotte Affordable Housing Group Expands Portfolio

MARK RUMSEY / WFAE
Supportive Housing Communities Executive Director Pamela Jefsen, in front of St. John's Place apartment building.

Charlotte nonprofit Supportive Housing Communities (SHC) has purchased St. John's Place, a 32-unit apartment building in east Charlotte for $850,000.  The group plans to renovate the units and make other improvements.  

St. John's Place c

urrently provides affordable housing to about 40 people, including several Supportive Housing Communities clients.  Executive Director Pamela Jefsen  says the organization doesn't plan to "remove" any current residents.

"We're looking to have a mix of residents here. I think that's a healthy thing. So as people are moving out, we'll be looking to fully renovate the apartments and probably in most cases will be looking for referrals for people who have disabilities and are homeless," she says.

Jefsen says that while some neighborhoods have resisted efforts to add more affordable housing, people who live around St. John's Place have welcomed the initiative with its planned renovations to the property.

SHC is the organization that operates McCreesh Place -  a permanent, supportive apartment community on North Davidson Street. It serves formerly homeless men, women and families, many of whom also have disabilities. 

WFAE's Mark Rumsey spoke with Pamela Jefsen, SHC's executive director, about the decision to buy the property.

Mark Rumsey grew up in Kansas and got his first radio job at age 17 in the town of Abilene, where he announced easy-listening music played from vinyl record albums.