Wilmington Housing Authority prepares for $130 million in redevelopments

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After a mold crisis that nearly bankrupted the organization years ago, and with many properties still left in disrepair, CEO Tyrone Garrett says the Wilmington Housing Authority is preparing for a transformation over the next few years.  

The organization has four capital projects planned with a combined total cost of $130 million. 

WHA plans to demolish and rebuild the Hillcrest and Houston Moore Communities. 

The organization also plans to renovate existing buildings at Solomon Towers and Jervay Place, with a building at Jervay Place that was destroyed during Hurricane Florence potentially getting a rebuild.

The cost of each project is: 

• Hillcrest – $26 million 

• Houston Moore – $65.4 million 

• Solomon Towers – $30.3 million 

• Jervay Place – $8.5 million

Garrett says it’s difficult to nail down when work will get started. 

“We do have some gap funding here and there, but the reality is, it really depends on the state tax credit award on how fast we can move these particular projects,” he explained. 

Ground will break Hillcrest first—with redevelopment happening in phases.  

“We’ll do it in phases, so one portion of a site will be demolished, and residents will move and shift to one portion and then when those new units are built, they’ll shift over to the new units,” Garrett said. 

Garrett says the difference between the new and old units will be night and day for residents.  

“I mean the reality is our properties are over 40 years old,” Garrett noted. “So, automatically it’s going to be a nuance of amenities, and just the quality of the units are going to be totally different.” 

Though, all that redevelopment comes with challenges—namely staffing. Garrett says the organization will need to expand exponentially to meet their goals.  

“Not only on the development side, but also in our accounting department or our management department, and even in our maintenance department, we’ve brought in a new maintenance director,” he said. “All of those things run hand in hand for the authority to effectuate these particular redevelopment projects.” 

Garrett estimates ground will break at Hillcrest by the end of the year, with the new units coming online in 2027. Groundbreaking on the other three projects are at least a year out.