A 57-unit apartment community for people 55 and older has started preleasing near Northlake Mall, the latest affordable housing project to open in Charlotte only after a last-minute public financing rescue. Woodlands North, located at 8400 Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road, is expected to open this fall with one- and two-bedroom units set aside for seniors and a limited number of younger residents.
The project almost didn't get built the way it was originally planned. According to City of Charlotte records, the city council approved $2,250,000 from its Housing Trust Fund for Woodlands North in December 2024, replacing a federal HOME funding allocation that could not be used without costly site redesigns because of HUD rules tied to the property's location in a Community Flood Fringe area near Long Creek. The swap allowed developer NHE, Inc. to keep the project moving without reworking the site plan.
The roughly seven-acre site also secured a competitive 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit award from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and comes with a 50-year affordability restriction, according to the same city records. As reported by Greenville Business Magazine, the low-income housing tax credit program makes all of the community's units income-affordable, with apartments targeted to households earning 30 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent and 70 percent of area median income.
Building Timeline and Amenities
General contractor C. Herman Construction and Steele Group Architects broke ground on the project in May 2025, targeting completion in August 2026, per C. Herman Construction. The finished community will include a computer lab, an on-site fitness center, a community room with scheduled resident events, and laundry machines, the outlet's report notes.
Units are being built with large kitchens, modern finishes and Energy Star appliances, according to the same account. While Woodlands North is primarily geared toward people 55 and older, a limited number of apartments will be set aside for people aged 35 to 54, the report states.
“Woodlands North brings together affordable living, natural surroundings and quality amenities in a community residents can be proud to call home,” said Taylor Davis, per Greenville Business Magazine's report. More details on leasing are available through the project's website, woodlandsnorthapts.com.
A Greenway Next Door
The community sits next to Long Creek Greenway, a paved, multi-use public trail network and environmental restoration corridor that spans several miles along Long Creek and Dixon Branch and is popular for walking, running and road cycling, the article notes. The Carolina Thread Trail describes the greenway as a 5.1-mile network featuring asphalt, concrete and boardwalk sections that connect residential neighborhoods to commercial centers near Northlake Mall.
That proximity fits into a broader county push. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation maintained 74 miles of completed greenways with another 20 miles under construction as of spring 2025, driven by resident surveys identifying greenways as the county's most requested public amenity, according to 6AM City.
Developer's Track Record in Charlotte
NHE, Inc. is the developer behind Woodlands North and represents more than 18,000 homes, apartments and condominiums across 15 states, Greenville Business Magazine reports. The company holds the Accredited Management Organization designation and has been named a multi-year honoree of South Carolina's Top Workplaces and Best Places to Work, per the same account. NHE also provides professional association management, apartment management, community development and service coordination services.
The company opened another senior project in Charlotte in May 2025: Ovata at Reedy Creek, a 78-unit affordable housing community in northeast Charlotte aimed at seniors, according to the outlet's report. Woodlands North also receives RPP funds from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency alongside its Housing Trust Fund support from the city.
Why the Math Still Doesn't Add Up for Many Seniors
Woodlands North arrives as Charlotte's broader housing math remains grim for lower-income residents, especially those on fixed incomes. A May 2026 Mecklenburg County analysis of national housing data found that only 20% of extremely low-income households, those earning 30% or less of area median income, can access affordable rental housing in the county, leaving a local shortage of more than 32,000 units.
The gap persists despite a construction boom. UNC Charlotte's State of Housing report found the Charlotte metro area added a record 19,754 apartment units between the third quarter of 2024 and the third quarter of 2025, but rapid population growth of 78,255 residents over that same year kept overall housing costs out of reach for many, according to the UNC Charlotte research. Separate UNC Charlotte Urban Institute research noted that by 2025, Charlotte's median home price reached $444,000, requiring an annual income of more than $146,000 to afford, while fewer than 2% of homes sold for under $150,000, down from over 33% a decade earlier.
Voters have helped fill part of that gap. Charlotte voters have approved $150 million in municipal general obligation bonds since 2018 to capitalize the city's Housing Trust Fund, which provides gap financing to private and nonprofit developers building affordable housing, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. State-level dollars carry their own multiplier effect: every $1 million spent through the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund generates $5.17 million in affordable housing real estate value, supports 110 jobs and assists 108 households, according to the North Carolina Housing Coalition. Woodlands North's preleasing launch is a small but concrete example of that funding chain in action, and follows Hoodline's earlier coverage of a similarly financed Tyvola-area housing deal.
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