I first got to know Tom Hanchett during his time as the staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South, where he worked for sixteen years. During one of our early conversations, he mentioned his first book, Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975, which the University of North Carolina Press initially published in 1998 followed by a revised 2nd edition in 2020. I acquired a copy of the book and read it about ten years ago, and it helped me better understand the complex history of Charlotte’s distinct neighborhoods. Tom devotes several pages in his first book to the topic of public housing, but his focus in this book is on urban planning and development.
In his new book, Affordable Housing in Charlotte: What One City’s History Tells Us about America’s Pressing Problem, Tom turns his attention to the history of public housing and the development of low-income rental dwellings in Charlotte from the 1930s to the present. The book is also published by UNC Press, and its official release date is May 27, 2025.
I contacted Tom and asked him how he came to write Affordable Housing in Charlotte. Here is what he sent to me:
Brookhill Village pushed me into this project. During 2018 -2019, Charlotte’s news media was filled with stories about that old low-income housing project located out South Tryon Street at Remount Road. As gentrification rolled through the area, would its long-time tenants lose their homes? Would city leaders mobilize aid so it could be redeveloped for mixed-income residents, including its current residents?
Brookhill redevelopment was running into two stumbling points, it turned out.
• One: Brookhill Village was privately owned. It looked like public housing, rows of identical bare-bones barracks. But it had been privately developed (with federal assistance) back in 1950 and it remained in the hands of one of North Carolina’s richest families. Huh?! What was the history behind all of that?
• Two: The government aid that was now available for redevelopment rested on something called the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Which was targeted to help tenants with incomes at 60% of Charlotte’s area median income – not the 30% AMI that most Brookhill tenants made. Again, how had that come to be?
As I followed stories by reporters Pam Kelley, Fred Clasen-Kelly, Ely Portillo, Danielle Chemtob, Lauren Lindstrom and others, I was embarrassed to realize how little I knew about all of this. I’d helped write a book documenting the early decades of U.S. public housing. And I’d written a whole volume exploring how Charlotte’s “built environment” had developed. Maybe I should find time to do some additional research into this affordable housing situation?
I knew three knowledgeable folks to start with. Attorney Ted Fillette, longtime housing advocate with Legal Aid, Laura Belcher, current head of Charlotte’s Habitat for Humanity, and Pat Garrett, retired CEO of the highly effective non-profit Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership (now DreamKey Partners) each graciously sat down for interviews. Their conversations began my journey but left me with many more questions than answers.
Then came Covid. As society went quiet during 2000 – 2022, I had time on my hands to pursue the research.
Today in 2025 it’s finally out, published by UNC Press — which says it’s the only study in the US that explores how housing policy actually works in a particular city over time, from the public housing of the 1930s-40s up to right now. They hope it will attract readers nationwide.
Tom is participating in several events related to the release of his new book:
June 1 — Book signing at Park Road Books: Tom and Rev. John Cleghorn. Drop in anytime 2:30 – 4:30. Brief readings at 3pm, 4pm. https://www.parkroadbooks.com/event/authors-tom-hanchett-and-john-cleghorn-discuss-their-new-books-and-affordable-housing
June 3 — WFAE’s Charlotte Talks, show about Affordable Housing in Charlotte, 9am-10am
June 12 — Tom talks at Mint Hill public library 11am
June 18 – Book signing at new eastside book shop: Troubadour Books, 1721 Sardis Road at Monroe Road, 7pm-9pm
I congratulate Tom on the publication of his new book, and I thank him for sharing his insights into the history of Charlotte. As I see it. Tom is Storied Charlotte’s storied historian.
