Folt: Northside Neighborhood Initiative will Strengthen Community

UNC Chancellor Carol Folt says the Northside neighborhood initiative is aimed at helping strengthen the community.

“Our excitement about this is that we want to help that community be strong,” she says. “We’re only as strong as the community that surrounds us.

“We are really trying to help settle some of the problems, help make it possible for working families to stay there.”

Folt says the university is hoping to work with students to help them realize the value of a strong community.

The Northside neighborhood is a historically African-American community that has been evolving with student rentals from investors.

Earlier this year, UNC announced a deal with the Town of Chapel Hill that included a $3 million no-interest loan to help preserve the neighborhood.

Some of the investors have voiced concerns their rights as property owners were not being respected.

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt says the full decision-making process for the neighborhood does not lie solely with property owners.

“I think we need to be thoughtful about making sure that we tap into the full array of members of the northside community, including the investment community,” he says. “[But] now that the scales have tipped, where so much of the property is now in the hands of the investment community, you don’t just put up the flag that that should be the dominant voice.”

Kleinschmidt says the goal of this project is to bring stability to the neighborhood.

Folt says the university is excited to work with Self Help – who will manage the loan from UNC – based on their past work.

“They have really beautified neighborhoods. They have made them very attractive,” she says. “And it’s important for our entire region that every neighborhood feels like a thriving neighborhood, because that attracts people to a region.

“There are a lot of things that aren’t quite so obvious – in the way you state this – that can be the result. And I think we’re excited about working with Self Help based on their success.”

Folt says she is confident this will be a positive move going forward.

“There couldn’t be anyone that would disagree with the idea that the most vibrant communities are ones that have a mix of working families, seniors, and students,” Folt says. “And I think this is an initiative absolutely designed to maintain that kind of balance in a thoughtful, inclusive way.

“And I think we’re proud to be a part of it. It’s important to take risks [and] to try things in a developing, rapidly-growing region. If we don’t do it, who would?”

You can hear more on this discussion during the Town and Gown portion of the WCHL Community Forum.

Chancellor Folt: Northside Neighborhood Initiative will Strengthen Community

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