The following letter was sent from The Chamber Government Affairs Committee to the Chapel Hill Town Council on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 in support of affordable housing as a future use on the American Legion Property. The Council voted in favor of the proposal.  

Dear Chapel Hill Mayor and Council,

Tonight, you will discuss the future use of the American Legion Property.

On behalf of The Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee, we encourage you to support affordable housing as part of the future usage. 

As you know, our community prioritized the creation of dramatically more affordable housing as one of three big, bold ideas during a community-wide process that involved hundreds of representatives from all sectors.

The Big Bold Ideas Committee on Affordable Housing set an ambitious goal of creating 1,500 new affordable housing units by 2026. To achieve this goal, the committee identified six strategies and 19 tactics, including “Dedicating available land to build affordable housing,” and the committee specifically recommended “building on county, municipal, and public school owned land.”

The opportunity to use a portion of the American Legion Property for affordable housing would be a force multiplier for good. This is particularly timely because we are hearing more and more from our employers about how the lack of affordable housing for their workers is a major barrier. Indeed, this designation could be a driver for economic development and unlock tremendous value for our community when our employers are able to better recruit and retain talent who can afford to live and work here.

Thank you as always for your thoughtful consideration.

Warmly,

Katie Loovis
Vice President for External Affairs
The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro