Last Updated on March 8, 2026 1:49 pm
A Charlotte-based developer with a track record of more than 5,000 affordable housing units across four states has proposed a 93-unit complex on US Highway 421 South in Boone, one of the largest dedicated affordable housing projects to come before the Town Council in recent years.
The Taft-Mills Group is scheduled to present its plans for Hemlock Ridge Trace at the Boone Town Council's regular meeting Wednesday, March 11, beginning at 9:00 a.m. in Town Council Chambers at 1500 Blowing Rock Road. The development would occupy a 4.18-acre site at 1501-1525 US 421 South, adjacent to Mountaineer Village and Modern Toyota of Boone.
The site plan calls for three three-story residential buildings containing a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. All 93 units would be restricted to households earning at or below 60 percent of Watauga County's area median income — roughly $31,000 a year based on the county's 2024 median income of $51,693.
Planned amenities include a clubhouse with a community room, an indoor exercise facility, a business center, outdoor recreation areas, and underground stormwater detention.
The project would be financed through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which provides tax incentives to developers in exchange for maintaining below-market rents over a set compliance period. Taft-Mills Group has developed more than 100 communities using the program and has received the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency's affordable housing honor.
The company recently won approval for a similar 100-percent affordable project from the Chapel Hill Town Council.
Boone has faced a persistent shortage of affordable housing, a problem highlighted in the town's comprehensive plan, Boone Next, and echoed by multiple speakers at recent public comment sessions. The town's housing task force has been exploring policy tools to encourage more affordable development, and the Town Council recently began attaching affordable housing conditions to new market-rate projects, including the 310-unit development approved for 736 Greenway Road.
The Hemlock Ridge Trace proposal differs from those market-rate projects in that the entire development would be income-restricted rather than setting aside a small number of affordable units within a larger complex.
No vote is expected at Wednesday's meeting. The presentation is expected to be informal, with additional details on the project timeline, tax credit application status, and any required zoning actions to follow at a future council session.
