Chapanoke Affordable Housing Community, Raleigh, North Carolina

Wake County gave up a piece of public land, and 200 affordable apartments are going on it. Gilbane Development Company, Harmony Housing Affordable Development Inc. (HHAD) and F7 International Development broke ground on Oct. 21, 2026 on Chapanoke, a nearly $58 million community at 326 Chapanoke Road in south Raleigh.

Every unit’s income-restricted. Homes will serve households earning between 30% and 70% of area median income, and several dozen are set aside for Wake Tech students who meet the limits.

Project Scope

The program is 200 apartments across four four-story buildings: 66 one-bedroom, 86 two-bedroom and 48 three-bedroom units. The site sits next to Wake Technical Community College’s Public Safety Education Campus and near the planned Southern Wake Bus Rapid Transit corridor. The partners also describe a commercial component aimed at local businesses.

Financing is the familiar affordable-housing stack, with more layers than most. Greystone Real Estate Capital is providing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity. Greystone Housing Impact Investors and Citi Community Capital are handling construction and permanent debt. Wake County is putting in $7.1 million of gap financing, and the City of Raleigh is contributing subordinate public money as well. Gilbane describes the total development financing as nearly $93 million, which is higher than the $58 million figure used at the groundbreaking.

The three partners formed Raleigh Community Partners LLC to own the project. Completion is expected in early 2028. The public announcements haven’t named an architect or builder.

Why It Matters

Land cost is what usually kills affordable deals in fast-growing metros, and Raleigh’s one of them. Using county-controlled land removes that line from the budget and lets tax credits and public gap money go further. Wake County has been pushing exactly this approach, and Chapanoke is one of its larger results so far.

The location is the other half of the case. Residents get a community college campus next door and a future BRT line nearby, which matters more for lower-income households than another amenity package would. The project still has to get built on a 2028 schedule in a market where trades are busy, but the hard part, assembling the land and money, is done. That’s more than most affordable deals in the region can say.

Project Team & Details