1st Local Co-op Houses Open Doors

The Carrboro-Chapel Hill Cooperative Housing Association, an umbrella organization encompassing the Hillsborough Road Cooperative, is a nonprofit organization composed of six local residents who acquired loans to purchase two houses in January. The co-op is the first of its kind in the coastal Southeast.

All six residents are members of the board of directors for the co-op association, and each pays an equal amount toward the mortgage, up to $300 per resident. "The nonprofit (organization) incurs all of the equity from these properties," said Bruce Burnside, a member of the co-op, highlighting one benefit of owning as opposed to renting.

Burnside said he saw the project blossom from an idea shared by seven Chapel Hill roommates in 1998 into the cooperatively-owned houses at 619 and 621 Hillsborough Road. A goal of the co-op is to build another property in 10 years that would provide affordable housing to Carrboro residents, he said.

But Burnside said there were a lot of things that almost went wrong on the road to cooperative ownership. "For example, the original price (for one of the houses) was $75,000 too high. Luckily, the sellers were very accommodating."

Burnside said Ruffin Slater, founder and general manager of Weaver Street Market, was instrumental in providing advice and behind-the-scenes support. "His clout kind of made this possible," Burnside said.

Lori Hoyt, a Carrboro resident who was at the open house to greet her new neighbors and see the houses, said she has lived in cooperative housing in the past. "It's a wonderful opportunity for young people when you can own your own home," she said.

With this freedom, the co-op members will use the houses for community events, art exhibits and concerts. Money raised at these events will help pay for the loans that were raised to purchase the properties.

The co-op residents have even larger plans for the future. Co-op member Dawn Peebles said the organization will try to expand the program in other ways, possibly including housing for low-income residents as well.

Peebles, who graduated from UNC two years ago with a degree in sociology, said what makes the co-op work are the skills each member contributes.

Peebles said she is taking classes at Central Carolina Community College to learn about carpentry, electrical work and other valuable housekeeping skills.

With no landlord, the co-op members are on their own for maintenance and repairs. "It's a different kind of consciousness," Burnside said. "You don't treat it like a rental property. Not like we treated rental property bad, but this is something completely different."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.