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Developers, nonprofits tell Charlotte leaders subsidies, infrastructure and permitting delays block affordable housing
Summary
Panelists at a City of Charlotte engagement said deep affordability requires subsidy in many forms, cited infrastructure and permitting delays as major cost drivers and urged more technical assistance, training and partnership incentives to help emerging developers scale.
A panel of developers, contractors and nonprofit housing leaders told City of Charlotte staff and residents that producing deeply affordable housing in the current market is difficult without subsidy and coordinated city support.
Dion Nelson, president and CEO of Laurel Street Residential, said during the moderated panel that "you cannot...build housing for households below median income without some form of subsidy," arguing that subsidy can take many forms—including discounted land, specialized financing or cross-subsidy inside market-rate projects. Nelson and other panelists said the city and partners must collectively decide which tools are appropriate for different project types.
Panelists identified common barriers: unanticipated infrastructure upgrades, longer permit review cycles and higher construction costs. Ty Harmon, a general contractor with Harmon Construction Services, described projects where required sewer or water upgrades and added fire-pump infrastructure increased a job’s cost by roughly $400,000–$500,000; he said such change orders can force developers to absorb costs or shelve projects. Chris (self-identified as Chris Sogundrinde of Urban Trends Real Estate) and others said permit review timelines and multiple rounds of civil review are adding months to preconstruction schedules, increasing price risk for contractors and lenders.
Nonprofit developers emphasized demand for units at 60% of area median income (AMI) and below, and noted senior housing and 30% AMI units are especially scarce and costly to subsidize. Julie Porter, president of Dream Key Partners, urged stronger connections between housing and resident services and recommended more rental-assistance or triage funds to prevent eviction.
Participants proposed actionable changes for staff consideration: (1) expand training and mentoring programs for emerging developers (the Ready program and paired-mentor models were cited), (2) offer procurement incentives—"bonus points"—when experienced developers partner with new entrants, (3) explore corporate matches and targeted TIF contributions to the housing trust fund where legally permissible, and (4) review infrastructure and permitting processes that routinely add unexpected cost and time.
Panelists and staff said those ideas and breakout session notes will be compiled and forwarded to the housing committee for consideration ahead of policy changes.
