Biltmore Hills, a 50-unit apartment complex in southeast Raleigh, just dodged the kind of market flip that has been wiping out older affordable rentals across the city. A national affordable-housing nonprofit has secured financing to renovate the property and keep it from shifting to market-rate housing. The planned work will modernize roofs, kitchens and HVAC systems and is intended to keep rents affordable for existing tenants. Residents and city staff describe the deal as a narrow but necessary intervention as cheaper rentals disappear across Raleigh.
In a press release via Preservation of Affordable Housing, POAH said it closed on financing to rehabilitate Biltmore Hills, calling the purchase its first acquisition in North Carolina and outlining a resident-centered renovation plan. As listed on POAH, the site covers roughly 7.16 acres at 2227 Garner Road and was acquired in 2024 as a 50-unit complex. POAH said Hamel Builders will lead work that replaces roofs, windows, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and heating and cooling systems to extend long-term affordability.
How the work will be paid for
According to a City of Raleigh staff memo, the deal relies on a layered financing package that mixes 4% federal low-income housing tax credits with tax-exempt bonds, construction loans and local gap funding. The memo lays out a proposed project budget of about $14.53 million, with $1.6 million in city gap financing and $1.4 million from Wake County, while LIHTC equity and permanent lending from partners fill much of the remainder. City documents show those public dollars were paired with bank construction financing and LIHTC equity to make the rehab feasible.
Vouchers will anchor rents
The Raleigh Housing Authority awarded 25 project-based vouchers to Biltmore Hills to help keep units affordable for qualifying households, according to a Raleigh Housing Authority public notice. Project-based vouchers subsidize rents on-site, tying affordability to the property so residents do not lose assistance if they stay put through rehabilitation.
Why this matters in Raleigh
Raleigh has shed a large share of its lowest-cost rentals in recent years, according to reporting from The News & Observer. Median rents climbed roughly 37% between 2017 and 2022, and the share of rentals under $1,000 fell from about 55% in 2016 to roughly 10% in 2024, heightening displacement concerns across the city. The News & Observer documented those trends.
Wayne Horton, a 68-year-old Biltmore Hills resident, told The News & Observer, "People in this neighborhood deserve to have better housing; there’s completely almost no affordable housing anywhere for people like us." His words underscore why preservation deals are often pitched as urgent, targeted fixes for long-standing households at risk of displacement.
What’s next
Raleigh Housing Authority planning documents listed rehabilitation of the property as slated to begin in January 2026, though public timelines have shifted around closing and funding steps; that schedule appears in RHA planning files and notices. POAH and city staff say work will be phased, with tenant protections and coordination to minimize disruption while upgrades are completed.
Keeping Biltmore Hills off the conversion path preserves 50 homes, a meaningful rescue for the households who live there, but only a small wedge of what advocates say the city needs to stem the loss of deeply affordable rentals. Officials and nonprofits say more preservation deals, vouchers and public investment will be necessary to blunt market pressures citywide.
