Groundbreaking kicks off Pender Crossing project

City officials, developers and members of the community came together Friday morning to break ground and celebrate the Pender Crossing development on Pender Street.

Pender Crossing is a new 2.13-acre development owned and managed by Woda Cooper Companies. The 48-unit complex will be built on the site of the former Pender Street Park. The park will be relocated and renovated nearby on the same block.

“This development addresses the need to provide quality affordable housing to the people that need it most,” said Denis Blackburne, senior vice president of the Woda Cooper Companies. “The purpose of this program is to create market rate developments. This project is targeting those that are not as fortunate to have higher end income levels. We’re targeting residents between 40% and 60% of the area’s median income.”

The apartment complex will include two four-story buildings with one-, two- and three-bedroom units, all with rents tied to tenants’ income. On-site parking will be available for residents along with an on-site management and leasing office. Blackburne said the qualifying salary range for a single Wilson resident is between $21,680 and $32,520 annually.

“These are hardworking people,” Blackburne said. “They are the backbone of most of the communities in which we live. These folks will have a very quality affordable place to live.”

Mayor Carlton Stevens emphasized the importance of taking care of the less fortunate in our community.

“These developers are responding with love and compassion,” Stevens said. “They’re giving hope to the hopeless. No matter how big the endeavor is, we need to take that first step. I want to thank Woda Cooper for showing compassion and giving hope and taking that first step.”

Assistant City Manager Rodger Lentz said the city received a $1.2 million housing credit and a $960,000 loan to support the Pender Crossing development. Often, he said, developers ask how the city can help them once they acquire a piece of property in Wilson. Lentz said Woda Cooper took a different approach, asking how they can help the city.

“We talked about the redevelopment areas of the city and where we needed housing,” Lentz said. “We landed on this area. We did a little math and figured out it had to be this site.”

Lentz said the Pender Crossing development is a catalyst for redeveloping that section of downtown Wilson.

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