City leaders unveil plans for expanded affordable housing at Heritage Park

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- City leaders and development partners unveiled new plans on Wednesday for Heritage Park, an affordable housing community on the southern edge of downtown Raleigh.

The redevelopment will introduce hundreds of new units in the coming years, increasing from 120 to over 1,000, with most being affordable.

Originally built in the 1970s, the site had fallen into disrepair and was closed.

The area was once part of Raleigh's 11.6-acre Fourth Ward, a vibrant majority-Black neighborhood in the 1950s, according to Rosa Rand, head of the Fourth Ward Historic Neighborhood Association. Rand, who grew up there, noted how urban renewal and city growth effectively erased the community over time.

"We felt that when they told us they were rebuilding, it was broken promises," she said. "So that had brewed for years, and we were like, 'we've got to protect this park.'"

On Wednesday, Rand attended the unveiling of plans for the new Heritage Park, a project she helped create. Renderings showcased a sprawling development, increasing units to over 1,000, with most affordable.

Ashley Lommers-Johnson, CEO of the Raleigh Housing Authority, emphasized the vision of creating a development that is connected digitally, physically, socially, and economically.

"Economically, you know, there will be a thousand households here who may be able to walk to work and walk to jobs," he said.

Lommers-Johnson and the project leaders say they believe they will be able to provide market-rate quality housing that is fully integrated into a growing neighborhood, while not displacing anyone who lives there.

Lommers-Johnson described it as a comprehensive transformation that will serve as a blueprint for future work in Raleigh.

For community stakeholders, it's a goal they've been fighting for years.

"We stepped in and kind of took it under our wing to make sure that the residents would never be displaced as we were," Rand said.

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