Chapel Hill Affordable Housing Complex Opens After Year-Long Delay
Chapel Hill’s PEACH Apartments finally welcomed tenants after Duke Power’s meter dispute forced a costly year-long delay for the affordable housing complex.
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA — Tenants began moving into Pine Knoll EMPOWERment Affordable Community Housing (PEACH) Apartments on April 1 after a nearly year-long delay caused by a dispute over electrical metering requirements.
The 10-unit affordable housing complex in Chapel Hill was originally scheduled to open in 2025, but Duke Power refused to provide electrical service because developer EMPOWERment Inc. had installed a single meter for the entire building to accommodate rooftop solar panels.
Solar Panel Plan Creates Legal Hurdle
Delores Bailey, EMPOWERment’s executive director, had chosen the single-meter approach as a cost-saving measure for low-income residents. The apartments were primarily built for tenants earning 30% of area median income, which is about $27,000 a year for Orange County.
However, state law does not allow new residential buildings to be served by a master meter for electric services. Duke Power followed the law, and when EMPOWERment asked the N.C. Utilities Commission to overrule Duke, the commission ruled in favor of the energy company.
Additional Costs and Tenant Hardships
The ruling forced Bailey to raise an additional $100,000 to install individual meters in each apartment unit. The lengthy delay caused hardship for prospective tenants who had already made moving arrangements.
“I was fortunate enough to have a cooperative landlord but there were others who were actually sleeping on other people’s couches because of all of the bureaucracy,” said Betty Curry, who moved in last week with her husband Silas. Curry explained that some proposed tenants had told their previous landlords they were moving but were left without permanent housing when the project was delayed.
Lessons Learned
On Monday, newly moved-in tenants gathered in a breezeway at the complex to chat and compare notes about items on their punch lists — a conversation that should have taken place nearly a year earlier.
Bailey acknowledged the setback as a learning experience. “I would have done more research,” Bailey told NC Newsline. “I assumed — my bad — Duke would” accept the single-meter configuration.
The delay highlights the complexities facing affordable housing developers as they navigate regulatory requirements while trying to implement cost-saving measures for low-income residents. The PEACH Apartments project represents a significant addition to Chapel Hill’s affordable housing stock, serving families at the lowest income levels in Orange County.
