COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PLAN | Town of Wake Forest
Planning Context
The Housing Affordability Plan builds on the housing needs captured in previous planning efforts, including the 2021 Northeast Community Plan. Overview Planning efforts, findings, and recommendations established in Wake Forest. The following past planning efforts shaped policies and goals that informed this Plan, including:
The Northeast Community Plan (2021) The Northeast Community was established by formerly enslaved African Americans after the Civil War and remains predominantly Black today. The Plan for the historic Northeast Community studied the 315-acre district’s plateauing population in comparison to Wake Forest’s rapid growth as well as the area’s declining share of Black households. Despite these challenges, the Plan highlights that this area remains relatively affordable with its smaller home sizes and older housing stock. The Town engaged leaders from the Northeast Community to incorporate their insight into this Housing Affordability Plan. Among its recommendations, the Plan sought to provide a variety of affordable housing options (ownership and rental) created via new and infill residential developments, identify opportunities for commercial development along North White Street, and build the community’s capacity for economic stability. Its future land use goals promote sustainable urban growth opportunities and target areas nearest downtown for medium-density housing, commercial development, and mixed uses. This Housing Affordability Plan included engagement with multiple stakeholders within the Northeast Community including homeowners, renters, community leaders and advocates. Participants expressed concerns about rising rents, property taxes, and displacement pressures, which resonated with the experiences of seniors and non-white communities across Wake Forest.
• Community Plan (2022) • Northeast Community Plan (2021)
While each of these plans provide critical policy recommendations directed at improving the Town’s housing affordability, the Northeast Community Plan elaborates in more depth on the serious displacement pressures being felt by the Town’s largest African American neighborhood. Community Plan (2022) The Community Plan includes sustainable growth strategies with a focus on providing open space and preserving Wake Forest's small town character. The Plan recognizes the need for mixed uses that promote active residential areas and downtown growth, including transit- supportive residential development. The Residential Areas Plan specifically highlights nine areas with opportunities to increase the diversity of housing types in Wake Forest, particularly in infill development areas.
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