First phase of new housing development set to get underway in Winston-Salem

A major housing redevelopment project planned for east Winston-Salem is moving forward. City council recently approved a site plan that will kickstart construction on the first phase.

For years, city leaders have looked at ways to revitalize an area known as the Cleveland Avenue corridor. It's a large stretch of communities near the downtown area. Last year, the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem (HAWS) won a $30 million federal grant to help make that happen.

The goal is to reconnect the areas east and west of U.S. 52 and reestablish some cohesion that was lost with urban renewal programs and with the construction of the highway, while extending investments beyond Innovation Quarter.

The plan calls for more than 400 units of new housing.

Phase one includes 81 apartments that will be constructed at the former Brown Elementary School on Highland Avenue.

Kevin Cheshire, the executive director of HAWS, says it will be a mixed-income community, with affordable options for many different households.

“What we want to be mindful of is making sure that we aren't doing what we've done in the past, which is just stacking a lot of affordable housing in one area of the city," says Cheshire. "We want to make sure that when we are developing affordable housing we are doing it as part of a larger mixed-income community, where it's true community.”

Construction on the apartment buildings at the former Brown Elementary will begin next year. It's expected to be finished in late 2023.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news