Investor pours millions into small city north of Raleigh

Counties north of Raleigh continue to attract investments in residential real estate, with an organization linked to a New York firm making the latest acquisition.

Foxborough Pines Harmony Housing, an LLC tied to Atlanta-area nonprofit Harmony Housing, purchased a 60-unit affordable housing apartment complex in Henderson for $3.25 million at the end of last month, according to Vance County deed records.

The complex is called Foxborough Pines Apartments and is located at 100 Foxborough Lane. The complex was built in 1998 and features one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.

Founded in 2014, Harmony Housing was launched by Stephen Rosenberg, the founder and CEO of New York-based real estate finance and investment company Greystone.

Greystone spokeswoman Karen Moratta told Triangle Business Journal that Harmony Housing acquired Foxborough Pines in order to maintain the affordable housing at the property. Harmony Housing has invested in affordable housing projects in multiple states, including Wisconsin, Texas, and Florida, among others.

“There are no plans to change anything there except to keep it affordable,” Moratta said.

Moratta did not respond to follow-up questions about what attracted Harmony Housing to Vance County and what the starting rents are for Foxborough Pines Apartments. That pricing information was not publicly available on rental websites. The median income household in Henderson was $36,147 as of 2021, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Vance County, which saw its population decline from 45,422 to 42,578 between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, hasn’t seen as much residential investment as neighboring Granville County. But big projects have been proposed as developers seek lower costs away from the Triangle’s core counties.

Last month, TBJ reported that GBF Holdings, an LLC tied to Raleigh-based developer Futrell Development, plans to rezone roughly 123 acres on Dabney Road in Henderson from a shop center commercial district to a conditional district. The plan is to create Dabney Village, a mixed-use community that could include up to 753 residential units and 300,000 square feet for non-residential uses.

Ben Tobin covers real estate and economic development in the Greater Triangle, focusing on the counties outside Wake and Durham. Have a tip? Reach him at btobihn@bizjournals.com or (919) 327-1012.