On a quiet stretch of Kildaire Farm Road, Greenwood Forest Baptist Church is getting ready to trade stained glass for steel beams. The Cary congregation plans to tear down large portions of its campus and replace them with a mixed-use development that packs in affordable housing, childcare, and support services under one roof.
The project, called the Timothy Ash Carr Center, will bring 51 affordable rental units, plus 11 two-bedroom program apartments reserved for working families experiencing homelessness. A full-day childcare center, run in partnership with the YMCA, will sit on the ground floor. Demolition is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2027, with completion projected for 2028.
The church secured crucial rezoning approval last year to move the plan forward, as reported by WUNC. Project partners list DHIC as the nonprofit developer that will own the 51 affordable units and The Carying Place as the operator of the 11 program apartments, while the YMCA and Greenwood Forest Children’s Center are slated to occupy ground-floor space, according to the project website for The Timothy Ash Carr Center.
A regional housing shortfall
The Carr Center is one small response to a massive problem. A statewide analysis commissioned by the NC Chamber Foundation found North Carolina faces a five-year housing inventory gap of roughly 764,478 units from 2024 through 2029. The shortfall spans both rentals and homes for sale, according to the NC Chamber Foundation.
Zoom in on the Triangle and the crunch looks just as stark. Municipal planning documents cite Bowen National Research projections showing Wake County alone could be short roughly 110,689 homes by 2029. That kind of deficit helps explain why churches and affordable housing developers are teaming up on projects like the Carr Center. The City of Raleigh consolidated plan highlights the same Bowen analysis.
How the Carr Center will work
On the Greenwood Forest campus, the plan is to remove an older sanctuary wing and a preschool building, then use that footprint for a four-story structure that stacks services under housing. Project materials show the ground floor will hold a full-day childcare center and nonprofit offices. Above that, DHIC will manage apartments with long-term affordability restrictions, according to the Carr Center team.
Within that mix, 11 two-bedroom program apartments are set aside specifically for working families participating in The Carying Place’s programs. The remaining 51 units will function as affordable rentals, with DHIC listed as the owner and steward of the long-term affordability.
Faith leaders and a wider movement
What is happening in Cary is part of a broader shift advocates have started calling YIGBY, short for “Yes In God’s Backyard.” The push is to use underutilized faith-owned land for housing, particularly in places where zoning fights and neighborhood opposition can stall traditional projects.
National coverage has tracked similar efforts and proposals to ease zoning rules for church-led developments, with supporters arguing that congregations can help speed construction and win community trust. In Raleigh, Clark Rinehart, who founded the Steeple Collective to help congregations repurpose property, has described the trend as churches being “activated to be a better neighbor,” as Axios Raleigh reported. National explainers on the YIGBY concept point to pilots in several states, and Realtor has summarized how churches are being courted as housing partners around the country.
Funding, timing and what comes next
The Carr Center team reports that development support and tax-credit commitments are already in place during the predevelopment phase, with local contributions helping to make the deal pencil out. Partner updates describe Wake County providing predevelopment funding and note that the team secured tax credits in 2025, with the overall effort described in local coverage as roughly a $26 million mixed-use project. Coverage by Episcopal News Service lays out those partner and funding details.
For congregations like Greenwood Forest, leaders frame redevelopment as both a mission-driven decision and a financial necessity as attendance patterns and resources shift. If the timeline holds, demolition in early 2027 will offer one of the clearest signals yet that Triangle faith communities are moving from simply sheltering and feeding neighbors to building long-term housing on their own land.
