Buncombe, Asheville schools partner on apartments for teachers

ASHEVILLE — A new apartment complex for teachers in Buncombe County will be named for UNC basketball coach Roy Williams, his wife Wanda Williams and two former county teachers who had a big impact on their lives.

The announcement about the Williams-Baldwin Teacher campus came Friday after a luncheon at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

The 24-unit apartment project is a joint effort between Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Eblen Charities' Center for Social Enterprise, Buncombe County and the State Employees' Credit Union Foundation.

One goal is to provide reasonably priced housing for new teachers trying to navigate Asheville's tight housing market.

"I don't think either one of us (county or city schools) falls short of the desire of a large pool of applicants, especially young professionals, wanting to come to Asheville," said Buncombe County School Superintendent Tony Baldwin. "The big rock in the road is the cost of housing and trying to fit that teacher salary budget."

The project addresses two of the community's most pressing needs — affordable housing and teacher recruitment and retention, Buncombe Commissioner Holly Jones told the crowd of more than 100 people.

"This is nothing less than a stellar day for our community," Jones said.

Roy and Wanda Williams were asked if they would be willing to lend their name and support to the project, Superintendent Baldwin said. Early on it was clear the project name had to be significant. It needed to be something that would reflect education, distinguished teaching, professional success and community service, Baldwin said.

"(The Williams) contacted us back and their request was, which I think symbolically is really powerful, that they wanted to request that the naming be shared with the two teachers that have meant the most to their career," Baldwin said.

Those two teachers are Roy Eugene "Buddy" Baldwin, who started teaching at Roberson High in 1962 and taught social studies for more than 10 years before becoming driver's education coordinator, and Rosa Lee Case Baldwin, who taught math at Valley Springs School and later at Roberson High School. Rosa Lee Baldwin is also the mother of Superintendent Baldwin.

"Anything involving education we're proud of," Roy Williams said Friday.

Rosa Lee Case Baldwin was the toughest, best teacher Roy Williams said he ever had; Roy Eugene "Buddy" Baldwin was the first teacher to make him feel good about himself.

The Williams are both Roberson High School graduates and former Buncombe County teachers.

The two told Friday's crowd about their professional paths. When they first started working in Buncombe County, they rented a garage apartment for $75 a month. "That was affordable housing," Wanda Williams said with a laugh.

Construction on the Williams-Baldwin Teacher campus is expected to begin at the end of October. Officials estimate it will cost $2.5 million to build the two three-story buildings. The goal is to have the complex open by the 2016-17 school year. The property will be built so it can accommodate future growth.

The campus will feature 1,100-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath apartments in the $900 range.

"These new apartments are really going to open doors for us," said Erwin Middle School language arts teacher Vicky Hicks at the luncheon. Hicks works a second job at Grove Apartments just to pay her rent. "In a time when news for teachers is never actually great, this is great news."

The 24 units will be divided between the two systems based on their size. County schools will have 18 units available to its teachers and city schools will have six units. The focus will be on offering the housing to new teachers.

The apartments will be built off Erwin Hills Road across from the Eblen Intermediate School.

The county owns the property and is leasing the land to Eblen Charities for $1 a year. Eblen will own the building. The State Employees' Credit Union Foundation is providing a no-interest loan.

As the loan is paid off, the apartments will provide a source of revenue for Eblen programs that benefit area schools, teachers and students in need, said Bill Murdock, executive director of the crisis charity.

"The announcement of these good intentions isn't where it ends. It's where it starts," he said. "We're able to help the teachers on the front end, but even more so, everyone is going to benefit on the back end."