A neglected building in downtown Winston-Salem will have a fresh start as the city’s first housing co-op

Featured photo: A view of 207 N. Spring St. (Photo by Gale Melcher)

Winston-Salem’s city council has given the go-ahead to local activists aiming to set up a housing co-op downtown at 207 N. Spring Street in the Northwest Ward.

Spring Street Co-op, the nonprofit facilitating the renovation of five units in the white horseshoe-shaped building that sits on the property, will be purchasing it from Partners for Homeownership. In 2002, Partners for Homeownership used a loan from the city to buy the corner of real estate on Spring Street, and the building was used by AIDS Care Service of Forsyth County until 2016. But in the years since then, it has sat vacant.

Before the property could be transferred to Spring Street Co-op, however, Partners for Homeownership’s remaining debt to the city in the form of a $156,870 loan needed to be addressed. Neither Partners for Homeownership nor Spring Street Co-op can reasonably afford to add that to their bills; the building’s renovations will cost around $200,000.

During Tuesday’s city council meeting, councilmembers voted 6-1 to forgive the loan; the Northwest Ward’s council representative Jeff MacIntosh cast the sole vote against it. 

Before that, the loan forgiveness request came before councilmembers at the Aug. 12 Community Development, Housing and General Government committee meeting, where councilmembers DD Adams, Annette Scippio and Kevin Mundy voted in favor of it while Robert C. Clark abstained. Requests will often come before one or more of the council’s four committees before going to the full city council for approval.

During the Aug. 12 meeting, MacIntosh brought up a plethora of concerns, stating that he would “abstain on this when it gets to full council,” MacIntosh said. 

However, rather than abstaining on Tuesday, MacIntosh voted against the loan forgiveness.

Additionally, city staff recommended that the non-profit adhere to some additional conditions in exchange for the loan forgiveness.

On Tuesday, Adams commended the group on their efforts to collaborate on increasing the city’s affordable housing stock. Addressing limited housing options isn’t just a city or and county issue, it’s an “everybody issue,” and unless the municipality collaboratively works with the private sector, banks, businesses and nonprofits, “this deal is not going to get better,” Adams said.

What’s next?

Assistant Neighborhood Services Director Samuel Hunter explained that the purchase of the property and clear transfer of the deed must be completed within the next 12 months. Additionally, the nonprofit must place restrictive covenants on the deed that will set in stone tenants’ area median income requirements. Spring Street Co-op has previously stated that they will offer the units to tenants who make 30-50 percent of the area median income. Winston-Salem’s AMI for a single person is $54,195, so qualifying tenants can make no more than $27,000 per year. 

The nonprofit must also make repairs and renovations and secure a certificate of occupancy within 24 months of the purchase of the property. That’s “with no other financial investment from the city,” according to official documents. 

The idea for Spring Street Co-op sprung from the minds of activists with Housing Justice Now, a local tenant-advocacy group. One of the non-profit board members Dan Rose stated to Triad City Beat that he would need to speak with his lawyer before commenting to the press.

Tenants of 207 N. Spring St. will pay a monthly fee that covers the cost of property rehabilitation and maintenance. Part of that fee will go into savings, so if a tenant decides to leave, they’ve built up some wealth that they can take with them. 

The National Association of Housing Cooperatives estimates that there are around 65,000 established in the US, and the revolutionary concepts that housing co-ops bring to the table intrigued Adams.

“We are going to make an effort, intentionally, all of us, to work together, and respect when people bring diverse, new, innovative ideas to this council that we’ve never heard or never seen,” she said.

Clark, who abstained from voting on the matter last month, changed his tune with a yes vote on Tuesday, saying, “I think it’s got a lot of challenges, particularly the fact that it hasn’t been lived in for so long, but if you folks want to take a stab at it, go at it.”

“I’m excited to see how this goes in the next phase,” Adams said, congratulating the group.

“I wish you nothing but success,” she added.

Learn more about the project here.

• Share this article: