A Milestone for Southeast Raleigh: Breaking Ground on the Promise of Home
Friday, April 24, marked a milestone for Southeast Raleigh!
Southeast Raleigh Promise officially broke ground on its first mixed-income housing development project, bringing the “Promise of Home” one step closer to reality.
And it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
More than 150 people, including residents, partners, funders, supporters, and elected officials, joined us for the groundbreaking ceremony under a tent at 1131 Gregg Street, one of the scattered site locations for our future homes.
Leading up to the official groundbreaking, Southeast Raleigh Promise hosted two pop-ups to introduce ourselves to the community. We hosted one near 1102 S. Person Street, where a single-family home is currently underway, and another at Gregg and Bragg streets, where we proudly broke ground today for four duplexes and four accessory dwelling units (ADU). Construction is also underway on a duplex at 911 Edenton Street.
Through this project, we will deliver 25 mixed-income rental homes across nine city-owned lots, including single-family homes, duplexes, and ADUs, to create space for residents at a range of income levels to live, grow, and thrive in Southeast Raleigh.
But it’s about more than construction. It’s about opportunity! This milestone reflects a long-term commitment to build stronger communities through education, economic mobility, health & wellbeing, and accessible, mixed-income housing. Southeast Raleigh Promise continues to build pathways for families to grow and thrive for generations to come.
We also celebrated and spotlighted the talent and artistry of entrepreneurs who help inform our work through the Rock Quarry Road Corridor Small Business Alliance. While their voices help shape our economic mobility pillar, their businesses help strengthen Southeast Raleigh. Vendors shared everything from custom apparel with the Southeast Raleigh Promise community-facing brand – caps proclaiming “Southeast Raleigh On Purpose” and tote bags cheering “I Rock with the Quarry” – to fresh juices, soy candles, and all-natural soaps. Guests also enjoyed Cajun and halal cuisine, along with chocolate chip banana bread made by students from Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School.
As we mark our 10th anniversary this year as the region’s first Purpose Built Communities model, today’s groundbreaking reflects years of partnership, planning, deep community engagement, and a solid commitment to increasing access to high-quality, affordable housing.
“We’re excited about what’s ahead and the chance to create mixed-income housing solutions that keep our communities connected, affordable, and open to people at all income levels,” says CEO Yvette Holmes
We were joined by our funding partners, the City of Raleigh, Wake County, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), (they are not a funder, Purpose Built Communities, Southeast Raleigh Promise, and our Project Team: Urban Trends, TightLines Designs, RBI, and First Rate Property Management. We were also joined by a program-related investor, the Tom Russell Charitable Foundation.
In addition to remarks from our CEO, Yvette Holmes, and Board Chair Sondra Collins of North State Bank, we heard from our District C Raleigh City Councilman Corey Branch, County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings, and Congresswoman Deborah Ross, as well as Michael Williamson, with Purpose Built Communities, and Dona Black, a senior loan officer with LIIF. We were also honored by the presence and remarks of state Sen. Dan Blue and Rep. Monika Johnson-Hostler.
Thank you to the residents, partners, funders, elected officials, and supporters who joined us to celebrate this important step forward. The work continues.
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. And it was just the beginning!
