Our Concerns

Lack of Transparency 

Our initial concern is the fact that the City of Raleigh has been involved in this proposed development for several months but has not informed the neighborhood of its involvement. We have learned of the development only through correspondence between realtors and property owners adjacent to the property. 

Through that correspondence we learned that on May 7, 2024, Emila Sutton, director of Raleigh’s Housing and Neighborhoods Department, sent a letter to Timothy Morgan, manager of Evergreen Construction Company in Raleigh stating: “The Raleigh City Council, in its meeting on April 16, 2024, agreed to offer construction-to-permanent financing to Lorimer Spring Housing Associates, LLC (‘Borrower’) in the amount of up to $1,250,000 to develop Lorimer Spring (‘Project’), a 60-unit affordable housing development...” 

Thus, the city is offering financial support for this development even before any request for rezoning to permit the development to go forward!

Traffic

Access to Western Boulevard is via Garland Drive to Kent Road. Garland is narrow with minimum shoulders and no sidewalks. Currently exiting from Garland onto Kent is often difficult because of existing traffic. Onslow Road connects to the west end of Garland Drive and thus might be another access/egress route. But since Onslow is a gravel road, additional traffic would be very undesirable. Traffic from the proposed development will simply add to these current traffic problems. Also, in the last few months, 11 new houses have been built in the 4100 block of Garland Drive — already adding to parking and traffic issues in the neighborhood. 

Parking

Although the real estate broker stated in an email, “Traffic impact should be minimal, as tenants will not have vehicles, and parking will remain limited,” just because residents are over 55 and qualify for affordable housing, does not mean they will not have cars. Thus, unless the project contains adequate parking space, on-street parking will be a problem.

Pedestrians

One of the objectives of affordable housing is walkability — locating the housing in areas within walking distance of public transportation, shopping areas, etc. As mentioned, Garland Drive has minimal shoulders and no sidewalks except for a short section near Kent Road. Thus, residents of the proposed development would not be able to walk safely to Kent Road to access bus service or walk to shops on Western Boulevard. (Recall that the broker stated “…tenants will not have vehicles.”)