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Winston-Salem approves funding for housing development at former Budget Inn site

The former Budget Inn in Winston-Salem was demolished and the site has been vacant, but a new affordable housing development could soon take its place if developers can secure enough funding. File Image Courtesy: The Shalom Project

The site of the former Budget Inn on Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem could soon become an affordable housing development. Winston-Salem City Council recently approved funding to boost the proposed project.

A group of private developers, nonprofits, and the city are partnering for the initiative which will be called The Flats at Peters Creek.

The plan is for 62 rental units to be constructed at the site. The housing would be income based and to qualify, households would have to make no more than 60 percent of the area median income.

PCCI Land, Inc., an entity of The Shalom Project, bought the Budget Inn in 2019. The vacant motel was demolished soon after. 

The City of Winston-Salem recently approved $500,000 in gap financing for the new project. But developers still need to secure tax credits from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to help move forward with their plans.

Marla Newman, the community development director with the city, says it's part of a larger goal to meet housing needs.

"I do think there's a big misunderstanding about who lives in affordable housing," says Newman. "These are working people, working families, the backbone of our community in many instances.”

If developers secure all funding sources, construction on The Flats at Peters Creek is expected to begin sometime next year.

Newman says a housing study and needs assessment conducted a few years ago showed that about 16,000 affordable homes are needed in the community. The city recently committed to try to develop 750 units each year over the next ten years.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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