To co-opt a familiar opener from Garrison Keillor, it has not been a quiet couple of weeks on Sloan Street. Since I last sat down to write, much has unfolded. Here’s a glimpse:
- 20,000 Candles! Davidson neighborhoods lit up the night on December 14 for our annual Holidays for Hope and Housing celebration in support of DHC’s affordable housing efforts. DHC Board members and I visited as many streets as we could cover that night, meeting neighbors, taking photos, and marveling at the beauty that comes from so simple an expression of our civic values. We are humbled and grateful. The campaign raised over $100,000 for our work, setting us on a very positive path for 2025. Thank you!
- Can you hear the hammers? Just two days after our luminaria celebration, we packed up and moved out of the office we’ve used since 2005. Why? We are repurposing the space to make a two-bedroom apartment and a community room for our residents’ use. You may wonder why we’re adding units even as we shoulder the financial obligation of renewing and refreshing all 32 units at The Bungalows. The answer is that both activities are key to preserving the long-term viability of affordable units we’ve already built. Taken together, our 59 units currently sit at the low end of industry standard community size (60-100 units) for achieving high-quality, cost-effective, professional maintenance and management functions. We are intent on delivering residents a day-to-day rental experience that meets the exacting standards we’ve long brought to design and development. Stay tuned: we’ll have more expansions to introduce this year as we find ways to do more with what we already have.
- And speaking of renovations . . . Since Spring 2023, we have quietly ramped up the pace of critical capital improvements underway at The Bungalows, Creekside, and the Cottages. It can be hard to see the changes from the street, so let’s give you a peek behind the curtain. Units at The Bungalows have seen the lion’s share of the updates including a dozen appliance replacements, flooring/carpet replacement in four units, HVAC replacements in two units, and water heater replacements in two units. In CY2025, we expect to intensify and broaden the scope of work as the second and third phases of a capital improvements financing plan roll into place. Funds from a major grant secured in 2024 from a local donor will underwrite volume purchasing of new flooring and appliances, and we will put roofers to work where you can see them and know things are changing at The Bungalows. We’ll complete the scope of needed work at The Bungalows and continue the initial efforts we’ve made at Creekside and The Cottages with proceeds from a loan package we’re in the homestretch of negotiating. You can’t always hear the hammers, but the work never stops.
And that’s the view from Sloan Street, where the office is torn apart, the work crew never sleeps, and our neighbors remain mildly amused by my devotion to a bike ride, ever attuned to each other’s needs, and always ready to lend a hand in building community.