Downtown Winston-Salem has arrived at another crossroads with its housing market.
Despite having 1,194 units in the downtown core — and 1,960 overall — pent-up demand continues to build, particularly for rental space, said Jason Thiel, president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership.
That's the bright side of the issue, Thiel told about 150 attendees Thursday during a presentation updating downtown initiatives that also involve Piedmont Triad Research Park and the Center for Design Innovation.
Thiel said downtown's housing challenge is trying to balance pent-up demand with the dynamics of supply and demand that appear to be driving up rental costs. Thiel said the downtown housing units are 60 percent rental and 40 percent owned.
"The question is determining how many more units are needed, thus the opportunity and the risk," he said. "We need a diversity of housing where multiple income levels work."
The 2010 census shows population growth of 36.9 percent over the past 10 years, from 1,499 to 2,052, in the city center's primary census tract. Even though three of the five tracts lost residents, downtown had a net gain of almost 1,000.
Thiel said he knows of 185 rental housing units in the planning stage, including 110 units for the Hilltop House development at 234 S. Cherry St.
Bud Baker, a former top executive of Wachovia Corp., is aiming Hilltop House at students, young professionals, and retirees looking to downsize. Rents will range from $650 to $850 a month for units in the older section and $825 to $1,050 in the new building.
Another project in the due-diligence stage is with U.S. Development Co. of Columbia, S.C. It is planning a mixed-use project on Trade Street that would include 60 high-end studio and one-bedroom units for rent on three floors of Coe Plaza in the $700-a-month range.
Doug Edgeton, the president of the research park, said construction on Research Park Boulevard will begin by late summer and take about 18 months.
The four-lane road will run from Stadium Boulevard to Third Street. It's estimated the project will cost $8 million. The N.C. Transportation Department has allocated $4 million, with the city and Forsyth County paying the rest.
Edgeton said renovation work is on schedule at Wake Forest BioTech Place, which is expected to be done by year's end.
After the $87 million project is completed, the building will offer 242,000 square feet of space for laboratories, offices and other uses, primarily for operations that Wake Forest Health Sciences is transferring from its Hawthorne campus. About 350 employees will work in the new space, bringing the park's workforce to 1,275.
Edgeton said he has no update on a proposed Veterans Administration outpatient clinic, a potential anchor tenant of the South District. The agency has not provided a public update on its plans since August. The VA is considering sites in Forsyth and Guilford counties, including near Kernersville Medical Center and on the west side of U.S. 52 at Fifth Street.
Carol Strohecker, director of the UNC system's Center for Design Innovation, said officials have resumed architectural and site-preparation efforts for its planned three-story building in the park. She said the center is considering an indoor amphitheater-type auditorium.
The UNC system acquired nearly 4 acres in the South District in January. Construction is projected to begin by the end of the year. The land cost slightly more than $1 million.
The center has been operating since 2007 at a site in Winston Tower.
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