Estrella Landing is an 84-unit residential property located on Gordon Road. It offers one-to-three bedroom apartments to low-income families looking to rent near Wilmington. The units are restricted to 30% and 60% of Area Median Income.
This is especially beneficial for seniors and individuals with disabilities.
That’s the case for one Estrella Landing resident, John Lizzio, who said he suffers from chronic pain after a botched surgery left him permanently disabled over 20 years ago.
“I had a surgery in the year 2000 in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the hospital, and they operated on the wrong side of my head,” Lizzio said. “It was a simple sinus surgery. But what happened was it ended up being an emergency. My doctor was out of town, so I went to the ER and they did a CAT scan, and the guy that did the scan… he had me on my stomach, and then when the doctor got it, it showed [the left] side instead of [the right side]. And when I woke up, I couldn't believe it.”
Lizzio is able to walk and get around on his own, but he says he lives each day in chronic pain.
“I'm on the second floor. You know, I was hoping to get a first, but it's okay, because there's a lot of other people here that need that first where I don't I can walk and know what I mean, several people here that are in wheelchairs, you know? So it is nice, though. I love it. Very roomy apartments," he said.
Lizzio previously lived with his daughter for about five years, paying her $425 a month in rent. Now he pays about $900 a month at Estrella Landing, but he said he’s happy to have a place of his own. And it seems Lizzio has formed a bond with some of the residents there.
“I've made a lot of friends here. It's very nice. The people are awesome. You know, majority of us get along fine and stuff,” Lizzio said.
The same could be said for Marsha Barfield, who is the mother of New Hanover County Commissioner Jonathan Barfield (who was absent from the meeting and did not vote when the county approved $1.5 million in loan-interest loan support for the project for the 2022-2023 fiscal year).
Marsha Barfield is making plenty of acquaintances and looks forward to filling her new apartment with the smell of freshly baked pineapple upside-down cake once she has healed from her double-shoulder surgery.
“I love it. I have a one bedroom. It's very spacious. It's a handicap apartment. And I just love it. I haven't gotten into cooking and baking yet, but look out,” she said.
Providing affordable housing to match the growing population is an ongoing challenge in New Hanover County. Which is why some developers are turning to private companies to cover the gaps that other funding sources cannot meet.
Wilmington-based Live Oak Bank recently announced it would invest $8.4 million into the development as long as Norco Management, which oversees the property, meets the standards of affordability for its residents.
Norco Management Developer Stephanie Norris, said Live Oak’s investment will be paid out in installments.
In addition to the $8.4 million from Live Oak Bank, an investment paid out as part of the low-income housing tax credit program, Norris said in a press release on Monday that funding has also come from partners such as Cape Fear Collective, the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, and New Hanover County.
Norris said even with the Live Oak investment, which covers about 43% of total costs, the company the company has identified and secured commitments for all funding sources and is in the process of closing the final loan for the development.
