A 68-unit housing project for seniors adjacent to New Beginning Christian Church in Castle Hayne has been a gleam in Pastor Rob Campbell’s eye for years. 

First proposed before the coronavirus pandemic and delayed in part due to rising costs, the recent approval of $1.5 million for the project by the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was the financial shot in the arm it needed. 

“The money that the county gave us pushed us over the mark,” said Campbell, a former Marine at Camp Lejeune who grew up poor in Missouri and later earned two business degrees. 

In recent years, he has emerged as a key leader among faith-based nonprofits in Southeastern North Carolina. 

While a groundbreaking for the project was at first expected to occur this June, it is now expected in April. The complex will be built on nearly 10 acres off Alex Trask Drive and will be open to individuals ages 55 and older whose earnings stand at no more than 60% of the area median income. 

The first wave of tenants are expected to start queueing up in late 2024, with rents for one-, two- and three-bedroom units scaled to individual incomes.

Campbell notes that while New Beginning Christian Church is the primary sponsor of the project, called The Covenant, tenants do not have to be church members. “You can be a Muslim or atheist. It doesn’t matter,” Campbell said.

Wraparound services such as training on budgeting and home maintenance will be offered on-site, and some medical services will also be available.

In addition to serving as pastor at New Beginning, Campbell is also chairman of East Carolina Community Development, a nonprofit that has completed nearly 30 public-interest projects to date. The agency leverages Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that help make projects more attractive to prospective financial partners, as the credits did with The Covenant.   

Three years to end homelessness?

Along with his leadership on The Covenant and an earlier 200-unit apartment project called Cypress Cove, Campbell is continuing to think big in his capacity as president of the Wilmington Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.

In early March, Campbell stepped up talks with Cape Fear Homeless Continuum of Care, at least two other churches and a growing group of pastors to present New Hanover County, the city of Wilmington and the New Hanover Community Endowment with a three-year vision for eliminating area homelessness. 

“My last total was about 350 people in New Hanover County were unhoused,” Campbell said, suggesting that an end to the current level of homelessness could be within striking distance with the proper funding.

As part of his vision, Campbell includes 80 beds for the homeless that could become available by creating night shelters at Hope Baptist Church for All Nations and DiVine Faith & Restoration Church. Wave Transit has been asked if it could allow the homeless free rides to the shelters once they open.

This latest plan will complement the existing work of other nonprofits such as Good Shepherd Center, which is conducting a $20 million Home for Good campaign for more permanent supportive housing over the next three to five years. Funds raised would create 24 permanent supportive apartments for the chronically homeless and a dedicated family shelter, both on Martin Street; 32 permanent supportive units on Carolina Beach Road; and preserve 15 existing units. 

Permanent supportive housing is tailored to serve chronically homeless single adults, many of whom are disabled, seniors, veterans or persons with mental health challenges.

Newer sources of funding

The shortage of affordable housing in and around the county has been a thorn in the side of housing advocates and end-users for some time. With an influx of families arriving from outside Wilmington and driving up housing prices, and with the supply of land growing scarcer and inflation biting pocketbooks, the cost of housing has put a squeeze on many renters. 

Pre-pandemic, more than 50% of all renters in New Hanover County considered themselves cost-burdened, with housing-related costs standing at more than 30% of income, according to an American Community Survey study (2014-2018).

When commissioners chose not to put a $50 million housing bond before the voters and instead committed to a five-year, $15 million general fund plan, the disappointment of housing advocates was palpable. But with Campbell’s 68-unit project and an 84-unit development on Gordon Road each receiving $1.5 million from the general fund, public opposition may have softened.

Hopes for new affordable housing also got a boost when the New Hanover Community Endowment awarded its first grants in December. The private foundation awarded a total of $974,800 for six affordable projects, including Campbell’s senior housing. 

“We know that more access to affordable housing reduces intergenerational poverty, improves overall health and safety and increases economic growth, both individually and collectively,” said a statement from William Buster, CEO and president of the endowment, who noted that affordable housing reaches across all four of the foundation’s strategic areas of focus.

In New Hanover County, Campbell said, “I think the attitude toward affordable housing has shifted in a more positive way.