Step Up

After months of delays, the city of Greensboro is distancing itself from Step Up on Second, the organization it tapped to convert the Regency Inn into housing for the chronically homeless.

If approved, a long-awaited housing project at the site of the former Regency Inn in Greensboro likely won’t be completed until 2027 — years after the original target opening date.

One city councilmember said he'd "never seen anything as poorly facilitated as this project" in the wake of repeated missed deadlines. Yet, the city's partners on the project pitched an expansion at Tuesday's meeting.

Greensboro officials have publicly expressed support for Step Up on Second, the city’s partner on a permanent supportive housing project, even after the group became embroiled in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. But public records reviewed by WFDD paint a more complex picture of the city’s response and relationship with the organization.

A Winston-Salem official says the city’s effort to convert a motel into supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness is “not likely to move forward.” The news comes weeks after the city’s partners on the project were named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

Greensboro officials are standing by their partnership with Step Up on Second, a nonprofit organization recently named in a $100 million lawsuit filed by the state of California. The company is involved in a project to convert a Greensboro motel into permanent supportive housing for people struggling with chronic homelessness.

This week the city of Asheville pulled the plug on a long-awaited project to convert a motel into housing for people experiencing homelessness. The move came after the partner organizations managing the project were named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Winston-Salem has been attached to a similar project with the same partners since 2022. And city leaders say that partnership stands, despite repeated delays.