The Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust (ABCLT) recently completed the sale of its first property – a single-family home located on Caribou Road in the Shiloh neighborhood.
The home, originally built by Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, was purchased by Nikita Lindsey, who was born and raised in Asheville.
ABCLT was established in 2018 with the goal of creating and protecting permanently affordable housing as a response to the damage caused by centuries of racist real estate policies and practices.
“This has been an incredible journey and everyone at ABCLT is thrilled to have achieved this huge milestone,” says ABCLT Executive Director Anna Zuevskaya, who also adds “I am thankful for all the support from our community partners such as the City of Asheville as well as the countless volunteers who made this dream a reality!”
The function of a community land trust, like ABCLT, is to acquire and maintain land for long-term benefit, usually environmental preservation or affordable housing. In the latter case, the community land trust owns the land on which a home is situated and sells the home itself to an income-qualified buyer.
As its first buyer, Nikita Lindsey has paved the way for others to purchase homes from ABCLT. “Being a new homeowner is one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced. It has been an amazing journey for my daughter and I. I have been able to show her that through hard work, perseverance, and dedication any dream can be accomplished” says Lindsey. “I am not only building equity for my immediate family, but I am also getting the opportunity to generate wealth for those who come after me.”
Individuals interested in learning more about the ABCLT and applying for homeownership can visit the organization’s website at www.abclt.org.