Work is officially underway on Chapanoke Apartments, a 200-unit affordable rental community in south Raleigh that stacks city money, Wake County land and cash, and a private development team into one deal (City of Raleigh). The city announced the groundbreaking on Oct. 21.
The site is 326 Chapanoke Road, right next to Wake Technical Community College's Public Safety Education Campus, according to development partner Gilbane. Plans call for four four-story buildings. Gilbane's project page pegs the total cost at nearly $93 million and expects construction to wrap up in early 2028.
The city's release names Harmony Housing Affordable Development as the developer. Harmony is working with Gilbane Development and F7 International Development under a joint venture called Raleigh Community Partners LLC. None of the public announcements we reviewed name a general contractor or architect for the job.
Here's what's going in. The 200 apartments split into 66 one-bedrooms, 86 two-bedrooms and 48 three-bedrooms. Every unit is limited to households earning 30% to 70% of the area median income, which the city puts at roughly $31,800 to $74,130 a year for a two-person household. Forty units are set aside as supportive housing for residents with disabilities, and another 10 are held for people referred through city-backed housing programs. Families Together will provide services on site, and the rents have to stay affordable for at least 30 years.
The money comes from several directions. Raleigh committed $4.5 million. Wake County added $7.1 million in gap financing and is providing the land on a low-cost, long-term ground lease. According to Gilbane's July announcement, the rest of the roughly $93 million comes from Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity through Greystone Real Estate Capital, plus construction and permanent loans from Greystone Housing Impact Investors and Citi Community Capital.
Financing closed over the summer. In a July 31 update, the city listed Chapanoke among four developments, totaling 317 homes and more than $10.45 million in city investment, that had reached financial closing.
The land itself has been on the county's radar for years. Wake Tech's trustees voted in June 2021 to donate the roughly six-acre parcel, and the Wake County Board of Commissioners accepted it that August, according to a Wake Tech release from the time. A later county summary described an early concept of about 235 units with a separate retail building of around 10,000 square feet. The version now under construction is smaller at 200 units, and current announcements don't mention a retail piece.
Location is part of the pitch. The site is near the planned Wake BRT Southern Corridor, a roughly five-mile bus rapid transit line linking downtown Raleigh with Garner. That transit project is still in final design, with property acquisition scheduled for 2027 and no construction dates posted yet, according to the city's project page.
Chapanoke also counts toward Raleigh's affordable housing plan, "A Home for Every Neighbor," which focuses on expanding housing choices and supporting new affordable development across the city.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a big-builder job, and with ground already broken, the prime contract is likely spoken for. For a small shop, the realistic openings are trade work under whoever is building it, and four four-story buildings running into early 2028 means a long stretch of framing, drywall, MEP, finish and site work. Since no general contractor has been named publicly, the City of Raleigh's permit records for 326 Chapanoke Road are the place to watch for who pulls the building permits.
The bigger takeaway is the pipeline. Raleigh closed financing on 317 affordable homes across four projects this summer, including the rehab of Biltmore Hills, a 1965 community being renovated to preserve 50 apartments, and Iris Ridge, 50 new senior apartments at 2900 Creech Road. Rehab jobs like Biltmore Hills tend to be a better fit for smaller crews than ground-up mid-rise. If you work in south Raleigh or Garner, keep an eye on city housing announcements and the station-area planning the city is doing along the BRT route, since that's where new development is being steered.