 | |
Photo Credit: Leoneda Inge
|
A once-abandoned school building in the heart of East Durham, North Carolina, has been given a new life. Now serving as a high-achieving charter school, Maureen Joy is helping make huge strides in the revitalization of a declining neighborhood.
In August, community members and politicians gathered to celebrate the opening of Maureen Joy Charter School, which has assumed residence in the former Y. E. Smith School, the oldest educational facility in Durham. Spearheaded by the nonprofit Self-Help Community Development Corporation, the renovation totaled more than $10 million, with CAHEC investing more than $2 million of Historic Tax Credit equity in the project.
East Durham has fought to improve its reputation over the years, and this run-down building was nothing but an eyesore to the community. Now, the refurbished facility inspires hope with its beautifully landscaped exterior and a top-notch interior design that provides the children with the resources they need to succeed. Of the 475 children currently enrolled, 85 percent are from low-income families.
Maureen Joy is a K-8 charter school that was founded in 1997 and operated out of church basements and temporary buildings before finding its permanent home in East Durham. Many of Maureen Joy's scholars - the administrators and teachers use that term instead of "students" - live near the new building, putting the school right in their backyards. Maureen Joy has been recognized as a "School of Distinction" by the State of North Carolina, with more than 80 percent of the scholars scoring "advanced" or "proficient" on their 2011 end-of-grade assessments.
Residents and local business owners are extremely proud of the new school and what its presence means for the future of East Durham. To them, the completion of Maureen Joy Charter School is an investment in their community and a sign that their neighborhood is now headed in the right direction.
|
|
AU Associates Wins 2013 Timmy Award
|
Congratulations to AU Associates and First Ward School Apartments for receiving a 2013 J. Timothy Anderson Award for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation. First Ward School Apartments, a CAHEC-sponsored development located in Elkins, West Virginia, won "Best Historic Rehab Utilizing LIHTCs - Small Project." The adaptive reuse of First Ward School has created 16 affordable apartments for seniors in a building considered "an architectural gem" in the early 20th century. [Learn more]
AU Associates has become a seasoned winner of this prestigious preservation award. The company has won a total of four "Timmy Awards," including one in 2012 for Thomas Edison School Apartments, another CAHEC-sponsored development located in Covington, Kentucky.
Created in 2005 by the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA), the "Timmy Awards" honor outstanding real estate projects that involve rehabilitation of older, historic buildings primarily using federal or state historic tax credits. A multi-disciplinary panel of judges considers such criteria as overall design and quality, interpretation of and respect for historic elements, impact on the community, and market success.
|
|
Partners Collaborate to Preserve Affordable
Housing in Georgia |
In July, after numerous years of planning and teamwork, WWJ, LLC, and Boyd Management, Inc., in conjunction with Greystone Affordable Housing Initiatives, LLC, and several other CAHEC partners, closed a $117 million multifamily transaction impacting many communities across the state of Georgia.
 | |
Pine Village Apartments, located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, was one of the first properties to complete renovations.
|
This deal will help modernize and recapitalize the limited stock of existing affordable housing located in rural Georgia by financing the acquisition and rehabilitation of 44 affordable housing properties. In total, th0.e project will preserve 1,362 units that serve low-income households in 30 counties across the state. The financing, which was a combination of both public and private funding, includes more than $31.5 million of Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity generated by CAHEC. The rehabilitation plan, which consists of substantial improvements to both the interior and exterior of the communities over the next 12 months, will have a positive economic impact as well. It is estimated that more than $34 million will be spent in construction costs, the majority of which will go directly to Georgia contractors.
|
|
Conference Hotel Is Ready for Reservations
|
