For Chatham Estates Residents Forced to Leave, the Experience of Relocating Has Been Mixed

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A few months after moving into her new mobile home in Garner, most of Eva Chirinos’ boxes are still packed. Between caring for her 1-year-old, visiting her former neighbors in Cary, and preparing to return to work, the former Chatham Estates resident hasn’t had much time to settle in. 

When asked what’s changed for her, Chirinos’ answer is succinct, but far from simple: “Everything,” she said.  

“It’s hard because you’re starting over—you’re starting from scratch—and it’s even harder with kids,” she said in Spanish, in a conversation that was later translated by AI-powered digital tools. 

“You have to sort out pediatricians and schools, and you can’t just … Well, here [at Chatham Estates] you had the convenience of leaving the kids with a neighbor, but there you don’t have anyone.”

Chirinos and her family are one of about 144 families who were forced to move out of Chatham Estates mobile home park earlier this year as developers prepare to build hundreds of apartments and luxury townhomes on the site located near downtown Cary. The relocation happened as ICE continued to ramp up arrests and detentions nationwide, creating another level of fear and uncertainty for the Chatham Estates’ majority Hispanic residents.

With help from an $800,000 fund—established by the Cary Town Council and administered by nonprofit NeighborUp—Chirinos and her family were able to buy a new home in Indian Creek Overlook Mobile Home Park, about 30 miles away. 

Of the 94 families NeighborUp helped relocate, some 40% were able to stay in Cary, while others moved to places like Raleigh, Durham, Sanford, or Willow Springs. NeighborUp helped one family “complete construction on their home and return to Mexico,” according to a report to the town of Cary that was obtained by the INDY as part of a public records request.

Chirinos’ new mobile home is “nice,” she said, and more importantly, it’s a safe area for her kids. But when she returns to work, she’ll probably have to look for a job in Cary, since that’s where she has friends who can help look after the baby. 

About 80% of the families helped by NeighborUp were able to stay in Wake County. But for those who had to move farther away, commuting to their jobs in Cary can take up to one or even two hours. 

Between visiting her friends and bringing her children to visit theirs, Chirinos also does a lot of driving these days. And with the price of gas up to $4 per gallon, she’s “still crunching the numbers” for her budget, she said. 

About 20 families assisted by NeighborUp were able to move their mobile homes to a new location, either in Wake County or outside of it. It was a complicated process, with the nonprofit developing a 57-step checklist for itself and families. 

Another 20 or so were able to buy a new mobile home or a more traditional single-family home, achieving a long-held dream. For some, buying a new home wasn’t Plan A because they didn’t think it was within reach, said Ande Curry, senior director of community services with NeighborUp. 

“They didn’t know it was possible, and it became possible,” Curry told the INDY. “We’ve been very creative to find affordable solutions every step of the way. I have a lot of faith that people are on a really good path. We’ve just heard so many success stories, people that are really thrilled with their new homes.” 

NeighborUp received significant support from area churches and other local nonprofits, such as the Green Chair Project, which provided furniture to people moving into new homes. In one case, a church congregation made free repairs to a mobile home, enabling it to be moved.

“We’re talking about siding, roofing, all kinds of things,” Curry said. 

Many more former Chatham Estates residents moved into apartments or other rental housing across the area—including Rose Park Manor, an affordable housing complex for seniors that was funded in part by Cary and Wake County. 

In some cases, multiple families moved into the same apartment complexes, where they may be able to preserve a little of the community support they had at Chatham Estates. On a sunny weekday last month, several former residents caught up outside the Arbors at Cary, an apartment complex, conversing in Spanish. As children played and drew in chalk on the parking lot, parents picked up dinner at an event organized by the nonprofit A Doorway to Hope. 

Maria Garcia, a leader with the Chatham Estates Neighborhood Association, moved to an apartment on the south side of U.S. Highway 1, only eight miles away from the former mobile home park. But like many others, she is missing the tight-knit community she was once a part of. 

“It’s sad, because in the morning, you could see a lot of friends, waiting for the bus, in the evening,” Garcia said. “And if I couldn’t pick my daughters up, I knew someone who would look for them and wait for me.”

One of the main reasons Garcia looked for an apartment in Cary was to stay close to her two daughters, ages 11 and 13, while she’s at work, she said. Without the support of her friends in Chatham Estates and nearby family, Garcia’s daughters will be spending more time at home alone. 

The new apartment is just across the street from the family restaurant where Garcia works: Meche Cocina Mexicana, owned by her husband and sister-in-law.

Although the family has a new base school following the move, Garcia’s younger daughter will return to Mills Park Elementary in a few weeks, she said. The Wake County Public School System allows parents to request a transfer back to their base school, so some Chatham Estates residents can keep sending their children to the school they’ve attended for years.

Of course, transportation can be an issue. Garcia still lives in Cary, but the upcoming school year will involve a little more travel time in the mornings and afternoons, she said. It’s not too bad, though: Next year, Garcia’s younger daughter will start a new school anyway, as she moves up to middle school with her older sister.

One of the biggest differences is in Garcia’s monthly cost of living. She was able to get financial help from NeighborUp with her moving expenses, plus three months of rent, she said. But the time is coming when the family will have to cover everything in full. 

At Chatham Estates, Maria paid $400 per month, which allowed her to save money to help open the restaurant last year. Now, she has to pay $1,800 per month. 

“Honestly, I’m working on my budget, but it is really hard,” Garcia said. “It’s gonna be like [pay]check to [pay]check, for a little bit.”

Garcia dreams of buying a house in Cary, she said, but it’s much harder to save money now, which makes it a difficult prospect. The family also has less of a cushion for unexpected expenses.

After everything, Garcia has mixed feelings about the town, where she’s lived for more than 20 years, she said. As the family was preparing to move, one of their few options was to rent an apartment at Amberwood at Lochmere, which is now up for sale. 

In late July, the Cary Town Council tabled a resolution that would have allowed the Raleigh Housing Authority to purchase the complex and preserve the affordable apartments there. After seeing that vote, Garcia said it doesn’t seem like the town council is trying to make Cary an affordable place to live. 

“It’s getting hard to live here,” she added. “I’d really like to buy a house here, but I think it’s not gonna happen.”

The ability of working families to afford housing in Cary long-term is “definitely a concern,” said Michelle Craig, who represents District B on the Cary Town Council. The district covers downtown Cary and the former location of Chatham Estates. Craig spoke with the INDY the day after the Amberwood at Lochmere vote and was one of two votes on the council in favor of moving the project forward. 

“The take-home message is we’re in danger, again, of losing additional naturally occurring affordable housing,” Craig said. “That’s just a pattern. 

“People largely continue to see Cary as a wealthy community, and I don’t want us to forget that that is not all of who lives in Cary. People deserve to have stable homes. They shouldn’t have to leave their neighborhoods in their community because they can’t afford to pay for housing.”

As of August, Neighbor Up had spent all of the $800,000 allocated by the town of Cary on the relocation of Chatham Estates residents. Of the individuals and families the nonprofit helped, most received the maximum amount of money they were eligible for, Curry said. 

Many also received a little more, thanks to the roughly $118,000 donated to NeighborUp from community members. That additional money allowed the nonprofit to “meet critical needs beyond the scope of the Town funding, including emergency assistance and relocation-related expenses,” according to a letter from NeighborUp to the town obtained in the public records request. All of that money has also been spent, Curry said. 

Overall, the money went to a variety of expenses for Chatham Estates residents, including rent, security deposits, bills for utilities like water and electric, application fees, down payments and closing costs for home purchases, mobile home relocations, and moving trucks. From January to March, reimbursement amounts ranged from $100 to nearly $10,000, according to a report submitted to the town of Cary by NeighborUp.

For Chatham Estates residents, the relocation was by no means painless. And for every mobile home in the former community, there’s a family with a different story. Some are success stories. Others don’t yet have an ending.

Some people have purchased and moved into new houses. Others are staying with family or friends temporarily until they can find an affordable place to live, said Katia Roebuck, an advocate for Chatham Estates residents and coordinator for the N.C. Congress of Latino Organizations. For some, renting an apartment was also a temporary fix, she added.

“They don’t know what’s going to happen in a year from now,” Roebuck said. “How long can they [former Chatham Estates residents] sustain living in a place where they’re paying four or five times the amount of rent? How long can they stay there?”

Several of the affordable housing advocates interviewed for this story expressed concern that Las Americas, the mobile home park across the street from Chatham Estates, would be next on the chopping block. It’s now home to at least one former Chatham Estates resident. 

Still, the efforts of the town, community, and area nonprofits did make a significant difference.

“We have a unique situation here where the community came together with one purpose, and I think that it should be replicated in other municipalities,” Curry said. “If we continue to tell the story, we have an opportunity to teach others how to do this and do it well.”

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