Charlotte, North Carolina, UNITED STATES Americas
Case Study Summary:

Lotus Campaign is a Charlotte, North Carolina–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to housing-driven solutions for people experiencing homelessness. Lotus’s mission is to increase the availability of housing for people experiencing homelessness by engaging the private, for-profit real estate and investment communities. Lotus uses a broad definition of homelessness ranging from those who are chronically homeless to those at risk of becoming homeless. Lotus operates two programs: the Landlord Participation program and the Investment/Acquisition program. The programs are different in structure and execution, but both are designed to work without government funding or involvement. The Landlord Participation Program addresses the critical shortage of residential units available to those experiencing homelessness by inducing multifamily property owners to make units available to serve this population. Designed to own or acquire interests in middle-market (workforce) multifamily properties where a percentage of the units are reserved for housing those experiencing homelessness, the Investment/Acquisition program uses the limited partnership or LLC model frequently seen in the for-profit residential real estate industry to finance multifamily properties.

Lotus’s Sharon Crossing property was built in 1984 and contains 144 units of workforce housing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Funding for the $17 million project (purchase price and rehabilitation program) was provided by Lotus—$300,000 (5 percent of equity); the Rose Affordable Housing Fund IV—$5,700,000 (95 percent of equity); and an $11,000,000 (65 percent of total capital), seven-year loan from Freddie Mac. ---- Interested in ULI's work on addressing homelessness? In 2022, the Terwilliger Center for Housing, with initial funding by philanthropist and entrepreneur Preston Butcher, launched the Homeless to Housed Initiative, which works to explore real estate solutions to the growing crisis impacting communities everywhere.

Learn more about the ULI Homeless to Housed Initiative.

Case Study Summary: Lotus Campaign is a Charlotte, North Carolina–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to housing-driven solutions for people experiencing homelessness. Lotus’s mission is to increase the availability of housing for people experiencing homelessness by engaging the private, for-profit real estate and investment communities. Lotus uses a broad definition of homelessness ranging from those who are chronically homeless to those at risk of becoming homeless. Lotus operates two programs: the Landlord Participation program and the Investment/Acquisition program. The programs are different in structure and execution, but both are designed to work without government funding or involvement. The Landlord Participation Program addresses the critical shortage of residential units available to those experiencing homelessness by inducing multifamily property owners to make units available to serve this population. Designed to own or acquire interests in middle-market (workforce) multifamily properties where a percentage of the units are reserved for housing those experiencing homelessness, the Investment/Acquisition program uses the limited partnership or LLC model frequently seen in the for-profit residential real estate industry to finance multifamily properties.

Lotus’s Sharon Crossing property was built in 1984 and contains 144 units of workforce housing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Funding for the $17 million project (purchase price and rehabilitation program) was provided by Lotus—$300,000 (5 percent of equity); the Rose Affordable Housing Fund IV—$5,700,000 (95 percent of equity); and an $11,000,000 (65 percent of total capital), seven-year loan from Freddie Mac. ---- Interested in ULI's work on addressing homelessness? In 2022, the Terwilliger Center for Housing, with initial funding by philanthropist and entrepreneur Preston Butcher, launched the Homeless to Housed Initiative, which works to explore real estate solutions to the growing crisis impacting communities everywhere.

Learn more about the ULI Homeless to Housed Initiative.

LAND USES

SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Affordable housing
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Location Type: Inner Suburban
Site Size: 3.04 Acres / 1.23 Hectares
Project Type: Multifamily Rental
RELATED
Report

Folsom and Sacramento County California

The ULI Advisory Services panel examined how to expedite housing production in the Folsom CBD and the North Watt Avenue corridors, as those areas are designated green zones that have capacity for infill development and high potential for reducing veh...
Webinar

Net Zero Exchange Offsite Renewable Energy

The Net Zero Exchange is a scheduled series of meetings to facilitate conversations and dialogues between ULI members, District Council staff, other global experts, and HQ staff. This is intended to help promote the most innovative and/or effective b...
Webinar

From Vision to Reality

HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee program provides an overview of its program and example projects pursued by communities to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Topics
Development
Centers and Initiatives
Terwilliger Center for Housing