A Neighborhood On The Rise
Like many suburban subdivisions that sprung up during the recent housing boom, Charlotte, NC’s Peachtree Hills was many families’ entry into homeownership.
A plot of land and a modest home represented success and provided a financial asset that would only grow in value.
Then, in 2006, the housing market decline hit Peachtree Hills. As was happening throughout the country, exploding interest rates on abusive home loans and increasing job losses left many families unable to pay their mortgage. Some were evicted and others just walked away. By 2008, one third of Peachtree’s 178 homes were for sale, in foreclosure, or owned by a bank. Meanwhile, the downturn left empty lots and half-built homes with plastic sheets shrouding bare house frames. Crime increased as residents continued to leave the neighborhood. “Overnight,” says resident and neighborhood watch organizer Ponita Ballard, her community “just went downhill.”
But a group of committed residents refused to let their neighborhood go. Instead, they joined with a diverse group of partners to rebuild the community. With hard work, financing, and collaboration, change would come.
The devastation caused by the recession is global, but its solutions are rooted in community. The City of Charlotte has worked with Peachtree residents to devise a plan that tackles everything from crime prevention to code enforcement to activities for young people. Self-Help is purchasing up to 25 abandoned houses and renovating them for new homeowners through lease-to-own or purchase arrangements. This initiative is designed to help folks like Brenda and Silvio Granados, who live in an affordable one-story Peachtree home restored by Self-Help. Their cozy house is the first they’ve owned. Brenda and Silvio reside in an area they feel is ripe with potential. “I’m holding onto the fact that it’s a great neighborhood,” she said.
Collaboration has been a key to Peachtree’s rebirth. Habitat for Humanity is hard at work building new homes. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership is providing homeownership and foreclosure prevention counseling to new homeowners and current residents. Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools provide programming for young people. And the City of Charlotte is working to ensure that street lights are on and lawns are mowed. After meeting with neighbors, the city devised a service delivery plan that addresses everything from crime prevention to code enforcement. In addition to providing grants to help subsidize home purchases, the city also has completed sidewalks and made other improvements.
The result is a neighborhood on the rise. Residents and partners are rebuilding the Peachtree community, one homeowner at a time. So far, the results have been promising. Self-Help has bought 21 homes in the neighborhood, sold 14 to new owners, and leased to one aspiring homeowner. The community is looking for grant funding to restore the playground and is organizing a neighborhood watch group. And the City is keeping services in place. Peachtree is a model for neighborhood-based, collaborative response to the destruction wrought by foreclosure. “It’s a complete one eighty from a year ago,” said Arthdale Brown, from Charlotte’s Department of Neighborhood Development. Early Peachtree homeowners and relative newcomers alike are inspired by the community’s potential. “It’s really just a charming little neighborhood,” said Brenda Granados. “It just needs some tender loving care.”
