Monday, March 10, 2025 | WCNC Charlotte, Austin Walker

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — City leaders are seeking solutions to Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis. One way they are tackling this issue is by turning to faith-based communities. City leaders believe a church with extra land or empty buildings is a golden opportunity to repurpose that space as affordable housing units.

The city will help fund these projects and connect faith-based communities with developers and other nonprofits. Councilmember LaWana Mayfield said this initiative has been in the works for a decade but the city is finally seeing progress.

“I have people every week saying, ‘My church has land. How do we get engaged? How do we get involved,'” Mayfield recalled to WCNC Charlotte. “It’ll be a little while for a development to come out like 18 months to three years, but we are making strides.”

Ken Clark’s story is not an easy read. It’s one filled with love but its also a tale of difficult twists and turns.

Continue reading the full story here.