Apartment complex on Hickory Tree to cater to seniors

Grading has begun for The Villas at Hickory Tree, a 56-unit affordable housing apartment complex on Hickory Tree Road just west of N.C. Highway 150.

There will soon be more affordable housing opportunities for senior citizens in Davidson County. Developers are building a $9.3 million affordable housing community for citizens over the age of 55 on Hickory Tree Road in Midway.

Halcon Development, LLC based out of Richmond, Va., and Bradley Housing Developers of Aynor, S.C., have begun construction on a 56-unit apartment building in northern Davidson County.

Pam Freeth, development consultant for Halcon, said the company chose the area because there are so many people who are in need of affordable housing.

"There is a huge waiting list at all the other affordable housing units in the area," Freeth said. "The economy is horrible, and there are many people who qualify where getting a discount on their rents can make a huge difference. We do studies to find the need and to look at what the market is saying. We don't want to go into areas where it isn't needed."

The property, which will consist of a single, two-story building, is already being graded, and workers are installing water and sewage lines. The apartment complex will have a laundry room, covered picnic area with a grill, raised bed garden plots, computer center with high-speed Internet access, TV room, library/craft room and community room with kitchen. The property will also have a gazebo and a covered drop-off elevator. Freeth said all the units will be equipped with two panic buttons, some of which are specially formatted for the visually and hearing impaired.

Halcon received $1.18 million low-income housing credits from the North Carolina Department of Revenue toward the project in 2013. The company had previously applied for a Community Development Block Grant under the North Carolina Catalyst Program to help fund infrastructure needs in November 2012. Davidson County Commissioners rejected the application, stating they had not secured appropriate financing.

The apartment complex has been a controversial subject with some residents on Hickory Tree Road. Commissioners approved the rezoning of the complex's proposed location in 2012, despite hearing from multiple residents about the traffic problems it would create. Freeth said her company has taken concerns about the impact to traffic seriously.

"The traffic study said the problem wasn't as bad as first thought," Freeth said. "We are not out to cause any problems. Usually only half of the senior residents have cars anyway, and if they do they don't drive in and out that often. The land was already zoned for a business, which would have been more traffic. We definitely took the traffic pattern into consideration."

Phillip Craver, assistant district engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said his crews have made adjustments to the road configuration to decrease the impact on traffic.

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Apartment complex on Hickory Tree to cater to seniors