Nooze Hounds: Charis Blackmon, West Side Community Land Trust
Episode 98
On episode 98 of the Nooze Hounds podcast, Charis Blackmon, executive director with West Side Community Land Trust, stops by the studio to discuss what her work entails as the leader of Charlotte’s only community land trust.
Launched in 2016, West Side Community Land Trust is a nonprofit organization created by neighbors to organize and empower the west Charlotte community in the 28208, 28214, 28216, and 28217 ZIP codes with a goal to preserve and develop their neighborhoods to the benefit of low-income residents and the neighborhoods as a whole in the face of rapid reinvestment and subsequent displacement of long-time residents.
The membership organization is governed by an elected board with majority control given to neighbors of the west Charlotte community.
On the podcast, Blackmon discusses how certain West Side Community Land Trust projects have come about, starting with smaller projects like the organization’s efforts in 2020 to move two shotgun houses that had been preserved since the razing of Brooklyn to the Lakeview community to serve as homes once again.
She also explained how the organization has evolved to take on larger projects like developing the The Legacy at Carr Heights, which provides 120 apartment homes for seniors ages 55 and over on West Boulevard. In total under her leadership, has produced 161 permanently affordable, high-quality housing units.
“Charis is doing fantastic work to address gap needs in terms of housing in Charlotte,” said Federico Rios, senior vice president of the Robinson Center for Civic Leadership, in 2024 when Blackmon was honored with the Nish Jamgotch Jr. Humanitarian Award. “She combines expertise with a humility that allows her to connect with developers, homeowners, political and business leaders – all crucial to expanding affordable housing.”
Related reading:
- The Redress Movement Works to Right the Wrongs of Housing Segregation
- Black History of Charlotte Part 2: The Building of Brooklyn
- Nooze Hounds: Kenny Robinson with Freedom Fighting Missionaries
- Freedom Fighting Missionaries Purchases Land for First Development
Remember you can catch us on Spotify and other places where you find podcasts, and be sure to check out Queen City Podcast Network for a slew of other great Charlotte podcasts that aren’t quite as good as ours but pretty damn close. Find past Nooze Hounds episodes here.
