$100 Million In Housing Development Planned For Winston-Salem's Cleveland Avenue Community

A major public housing development in Winston-Salem is getting $30 million in upgrades. But the grant is just a portion of the funds it will take to revitalize the Cleveland Avenue Homes neighborhood.

The Housing Authority of Winston-Salem received the $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant, but that's just the starting point in an effort to raise $100 million. City officials call this a comprehensive neighborhood strategy, one that focuses on transforming the entire area, not just the current housing units.

The additional money will come from a combination of sources, including city bonds, housing tax credits, mortgage debt on the property, and funds raised by HAWS and its development partners. 

Winston-Salem Community Development Director Marla Newman says this approach seeks to make the public housing units seamless with the rest of the neighborhood.

“When you come into the new community after all of this is over, you won't be able to tell which units are public housing,” says Newman. “So you will be mixing the incomes like communities used to be, essentially. People had different kinds of jobs, but they all lived in the same block and same neighborhood and it's really getting us back to that kind of setup.“

The city of Winston-Salem won't have an ownership stake in the development but are contributing resources to help with costs associated with the work.