Open Hearts Place nears start on new workforce housing development

Nonprofit leaders and elected officials gathered at the Burke Arts Council Tuesday evening to hear updates on Open Hearts Place’s Hildebran Switch, a 44-home development in Hildebran designed to provide more housing for working families earning roughly 60% to 120% of the area median income.

As the nonprofit prepares for its next phase of growth, it’s also celebrating a milestone within its existing program. Caroline Tillery is set to become the first graduate of Open Hearts Place, which provides hardworking families with affordable rental housing and programming to achieve long-term financial stability and homeownership.

The 6-acre development will assist in the mission to support homeownership, providing modular homes ranging in price from a low of $175,000 to no more than $250,000. Securing an erosion control permit is the last step, but in a few weeks, Executive Director Madelyn Russ said contractors should be ready to begin work. The homes will be move-in ready about four months from the buyer’s down payment.

The first phase will include 20 single-family homes, and Russ said the nonprofit will assess the needs of the community after it’s complete, potentially offering townhomes if needed. Three of the first-phase homes will be designated for families in the Open Hearts Place program. The nonprofit currently has six families enrolled and in other homes on Hudson Street and past Mull Elementary.

With additional homes for Open Hearts Place families and attainable homes for the workforce, Russ said the nonprofit is targeting a severe need for more affordable housing in Burke County. The median household income is $58,592, according to the Census, but many in the workforce make much less than that.

“Part of our philosophy is that if you’re going to thrive instead of just survive, you’ve got to have a place that you can afford, that you can depend on being there and being in good condition for your family,” Russ said.

A PERSONAL STORY

Since 2020, the nonprofit has partnered with Burke County United Way’s Financial Empowerment Program, where families receive help from a personal coach, and Olive Hill Community Economic Development Corporation, which provides first-time homebuyer education. The nonprofit also pays a debt reduction coach based out of New York and helps with memberships to the YMCA, summer programs, tutoring, and other forms of enrichment for children. Each family’s plan looks different depending on their needs, Russ said.

“The idea is you come into Open Hearts Place, it’s like a respite, while you do the work,” Russ said.

For Caroline Tillery, joining the program meant shifting her focus from surviving day-to-day life to building a future for her three daughters and herself.

“It gave me the push that I needed to become a homeowner,” Tillery said, adding that her goal in joining the program was to become more independent.

Throughout her time in the program, Tillery worked to improve her financial situation through budgeting classes, saving receipts, and balancing additional responsibilities alongside work.

“It was hard and there was many times where I was like I can’t do this, but looking at my girls, I had to do it,” Tillery said.

Tillery and her daughters, Heavenly, Maria, and Genesis, will soon move into a new Habitat for Humanity home. While plumbing work still needs to be completed, the house is almost ready.