Town of Cary details relocation aid as Chatham Estates faces sale

Town of Cary staff on Wednesday detailed efforts to help residents of Chatham Estates after the mobile‑home community was listed for sale, saying the town’s Stable Homes Cary program has set aside a relocation seed fund and expanded counseling capacity to help households find new housing.

"Stable Homes Cary is a partnership with Dorcas, which now...is called NeighborUp," Heather Willand, a town staff member leading the update, told the work session. Willand said the program provides emergency rental assistance, case management and referrals, and added a relocation element to address neighborhoods facing redevelopment.

Why it matters: Chatham Estates, a roughly 27‑acre mobile‑home community on the town’s eastern edge, houses 144 mobile homes and an estimated 700 residents, many of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino and whose median household income for a family of four is below about $85,000, Willand said. Those demographic and income characteristics make relocation and housing stability work both urgent and complex for the town and its nonprofit partners.

Neighbors and staff described the program’s structure and scale. Willand said the council approved a three‑year funding allocation for core housing‑stability services in March 2024. She told council the town currently holds a designated relocation seed fund (discussed in the meeting as $800,000) and that NeighborUp has been reimbursed for program services to date from earlier allocations. "The amount the program has contributed has helped 2,000 households," Willand said, referring to NeighborUp’s rental‑assistance work across its programs; she and other staff clarified that the relocation fund is a targeted pool for displaced neighborhoods such as Chatham Estates.

NeighborUp and local partners have already begun one‑on‑one outreach and intake. Willand said NeighborUp and a long‑standing neighborhood nonprofit, Doorway to Hope, conducted door‑to‑door outreach and held application meetings in early January after residents received required six‑month notice letters from the park owner on Dec. 29. "So far we think there have been about 124 applications for assistance received," Willand said; she added that counselors are now reviewing applications for equitable allocation and that some households may be ineligible for relocation dollars because of income limits.

Partners and logistics: Town staff and partners described a mix of responses—some residents prefer to stay, others prefer to move their mobile home, and some have secured apartments with help. Willand said two residents had secured apartments and NeighborUp assisted with first‑and‑last month rent. Preserving Home, another nonprofit partner, was identified as a resource for repairs and advice where a mobile home can be moved.

On language and outreach, Willand said Doorway to Hope’s staff speak Spanish and that flyers and counseling were provided in Spanish to reflect the community’s needs. Andre Anthony, identified in the meeting as NeighborUp’s director, told council that NeighborUp had expanded counseling capacity and was coordinating with Wake County housing staff and other partners to identify housing options.

Land‑use and process: Staff outlined the development plan under review for the site—Maple Avenue 25DP 7490 by a developer identified as Kennedy Wilson—that currently shows approximately 330 multifamily units and 97 townhomes. Willand said the site is zoned Town Center MXDR (mixed density residential). Because the plan shows more than 100 residential units, staff said the proposal would require Zoning Board of Adjustment review in a quasi‑judicial hearing; Lisa Glover, a town staff attorney, explained the ZBA’s six‑criteria evidentiary standard and noted the board only hears evidence presented at the hearing.

What happens next: Staff said NeighborUp will continue door‑to‑door outreach, process applications and submit reimbursement requests to the town as services are provided. The developer’s plan is in the third round of technical review and staff said the developer had not yet requested a ZBA hearing date. Willand said the town will continue to report back to council as NeighborUp processes applications and as any reimbursement requests for relocation assistance arrive.

Staff emphasized the limits of local authority: while the town can provide assistance and coordinate partners, the owner’s sale timing and the developer’s project schedule remain outside the town’s control.

The council recessed into a closed session later in the meeting and reconvened afterward; no formal votes related to Chatham Estates were taken at the work session.

Note: transcript referenced the community and program repeatedly as “Kerry” and “Chattam/Chattam Estates”; spelling and place names in this article are corrected to the town’s official name (Town of Cary) and to Chatham Estates to reflect standard local usage rather than transcription variants.