(uplifting music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(gentle music) - Just ahead on "Carolina Impact", the competition continues to heat up for starter homes across our region.

You might be surprised by who you're competing against.

Plus, how a local brewery wants to make the industry more inclusive through hands-on internships.

And free books for all.

We hop inside a bookmobile that's serving folks in York County.

"Carolina Impact" starts right now.

(bright music) (bright music continues) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Usually when it comes to buying a starter home, you're competing with folks that are a lot like yourself.

However, a new report shows that in Charlotte, large corporations are ready to make lucrative cash offers are now your biggest competition.

Carolina Impact's Rochelle Metzger and videographer, John Branscum show us how these companies are turning homes into rental properties, making home ownership even more difficult.

(gentle music) - [Rochelle] The dream of home ownership can at times feel like a nightmare for people who want to purchase starter homes in the Charlotte region.

- It's not realistic.

Nothing is feasible.

- [Rochelle] A lack of affordable housing can make home ownership feel out of reach.

Kia Everett and her husband were living in an apartment and spent three years looking for a starter home to purchase.

- We needed this space with our growing families.

We were looking for a home.

We realized that the house prices have been astronomical.

- A home, two cars, two kids, and one on the way, sounds like the American dream.

But for Kia and Cameron Everett, they don't own this American dream.

Everett is a pre-K teacher working on her second master's degree.

Her husband is an account development representative, yet they couldn't afford to buy in the Charlotte area.

- When you have a very tight market and high interest rates and the cost of housing is really high, it's pushing more and more people out of that market to where they're kind of forced now to be a renter.

- [Rochelle] According to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, more than 100 people a day are moving to the region.

While construction has picked up post pandemic, homes aren't being built fast enough.

- There simply isn't enough housing to meet the demand that's out there.

- [Rochelle] To meet the rising demand for single family homes and sought after cities, property management companies like American Homes for Rent are building rental communities like Hazel Gardens in Steele Creek, where the Everetts are renting a four bedroom house.

- I feel like the benefits for now is just giving us that space, that wiggle room.

- [Rochelle] There is competition for single family homes in Mecklenburg County.

Corporate investors are buying up thousands of houses and turning them into rental properties.

A new government study of investor owned rental homes in 20 metropolitan cities ranked Charlotte in the top three with 18% of the single family rental market.

Eric Moore, a research associate for the Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte says these firms target properties in the lower to medium price range.

- It does seem to be a good number of them are concentrated within that 350 or even 500,000 and below value for single family homes at least.

- [Rochelle] Moore is part of a data science team studying institutional investors.

Using the latest numbers from the Mecklenburg County Tax Appraisal office, his team estimates there were about 5,800 firms that owned nearly 30,500 houses in the county.

145 are large companies that together owned 67% of all the investor owned single family homes in 2023.

- [Heather] There are several big companies out there that will pay top dollar in order to get a property.

- [Rochelle] Heather Strowd is a licensed realtor in North and South Carolina.

She says corporations often come to the table with cash offers over the asking price, making it hard for her clients to compete.

- I would say that a buyer needs to just put their best foot forward and put the best offer in that they can.

- [Rochelle] Former homeowner, Kaylee Baez sold her house in Huntersville when her youngest son went to college.

She said she did not want to sell to a corporation.

- The HOA for that neighborhood has a owner occupied rule that it must be owner occupied for at least 12 months before it could be rent or leased or anything else like that.

So I think that that helps to contribute to the solution of getting homes back into family's hands.

- [Rochelle] Baez purchased her last home on her own, but says she couldn't do that now.

- Now I have a good job and I make, you know, a good income, but I wouldn't be able to buy a house myself in this market.

- [Rochelle] She and partner Brandon Bennett spent a year house hunting.

Frustrated, they decided new construction was their best option.

- It feels great, definitely one of my, you know, like I said, one of the life goals.

- [Rochelle] On a quitter mile stretch of Planters Road Drive in Charlotte, out of 50 homes, 13 or 26% were rental properties.

- It's still jarring to see over 50% increase in the last few years in corporate ownership.

- [Rochelle] In December, 2023, the Lee Institute reviewed the acquisition of single family homes in Mecklenburg County by large corporations like AMH, Tricon, and FirstKey.

A survey of over 1,500 residents found that 75% had concerns about rising rent, poor maintenance, and unresponsive property managers.

But research also shows the positive impact of corporate investors.

- When you have an owner who invests close to $30,000 in new appliances and landscaping and other ways to improve the quality of that home.

That benefits not only in that property, that benefits the families who live in that home, it also benefits the surrounding neighborhood.

- [Rochelle] National Rental Home Council Chief Executive Officer, David Howard says, "Single family rental home companies are not competition."

- UNC Charlotte published a report earlier this year showing that single family rental homes contribute to the overall level of educational attainment.

Why?

Because they made homes in certain neighborhoods more accessible.

- [Rochelle] Howard says corporate investors are interested in growing cities like Charlotte because there's a demand for families who want to be near employment centers and quality schools.

That's what the Everetts want as they work toward their dream of home ownership.

- I can only imagine there's nothing like having like your own home.

- [Rochelle] Until then, the Everetts are grateful to have a safe space for their growing family.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Rochelle Metzger.

- Thank you so much, Rochelle.

Real Estate Company, Redfin reports that Charlotte's rentership rate is nearly 36% and it's grown to more than half of the city's 64% home ownership rate.

Well, up next, they're called HBCUs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The first was in Pennsylvania, and was started by a Quaker philanthropist back in 1837 long before the Civil War.

These days, about a hundred HBCUs exist in the US.

Are they still viable?

And how are they meeting the changing needs of the students they serve?

Carolina Impact's Beatrice Thompson and videographer, Max Arnold show us.

- [Beatrice] They're known as HBCUs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

And for more than 187 years since the first school, Cheyney University opened in Pennsylvania, they've educated the sons and daughters of formerly enslaved people.

But talk to any HBCU president and they will tell you, it's not been an easy road.

- There are lots of challenges, especially in higher education, particularly with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

- [Beatrice] Meet Johnson C. Smith University's president and alum, Dr. Valerie Kinloch.

- For the last 20 years, we've been trying to find our way, find our way back.

And I believe that today, we are closer than we've ever been.

- [Beatrice] And Barber-Scotia president, Chris Rey, a former small town mayor and military retiree.

- You don't have to go where you're tolerated.

You can go where you're celebrated.

- [Beatrice] And Dr. Anthony Davis at Livingstone College in Salisbury.

Nationally, there are 101 current HBCUs.

There are 11 active in North Carolina, 10 of which are accredited.

North Carolina has the most enrolled Black undergraduate students in the United States and the second most HBCUs in the nation.

(upbeat music) With more than 1,300 students, Johnson C. Smith is ranked as the number one private HBCU in North Carolina by US News and World Report, and it's a cornerstone for the historic West End in Charlotte.

Is president points out, "HBCUs feel an important and changing niche in higher education."

- I think a shift needs to happen in terms of how people understand the role and responsibility of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and how we've always been leaders when we talk about educational opportunities for our students.

- [Beatrice] Founded in 1879 in Salisbury by the AME Zion Church, Livingstone is where the first Black intercollegiate football game was played in 1892 and it produced America's first Black neurosurgeon.

Now its president says, "The new focus is to aid students who had left out."

- Me being present in Livingstone is humbling for me to think that someone who spent their entire life in foster care, 17 years, nine months is now the president of one of our 103 HBCUs that are left.

- [Beatrice] The school received more than 6,800 applications for this fall semester.

They accepted 500, admitting 25% more students and they expect to hit 1,000 students this fall.

Among them, students in a newly developed program for those who age out of foster care.

- Here's a data point.

85% of young men and women who age out of foster care want to go to college, but only 3% go.

One student was dropped off at the gate by his social worker, just dropped him off at the gate with his items in a garbage bag.

(trumpet honking) - [Beatrice] Meanwhile, at Barber-Scotia in Concord, a former small town mayor and military veteran sees his charge starting at a deeper level, to bring a school back to full academic status.

- It's embarrassing.

It's a punch in the gut when you lose your accreditation.

- [Beatrice] Being installed as Barber-Scotia's 13th president after joining the school a year ago, comes with pomp and circumstance as well as honor.

Yet, the former mayor of Spring Lake, North Carolina is approaching getting the school founded in 1867 back on track as a business similar to the reasons why it was started.

It became co-ed in 1954, but in 2004, it lost its accreditation under previous administrations.

But something many don't know, Barber-Scotia never closed its doors, continuing to provide students services for the alums and some online classes.

Now the school has started the race toward re-accreditation.

- Since the gun is fired, there will be the tracks will have to come on campus.

They'll have to do an assessment, they have to do interviews, they have to look at our systems.

We have to do a self-study.

- [Beatrice] The school is also joining the New South Athletic Conference, which serves smaller schools as a way of attracting students.

Yet all these presidents do point out that a key factor for higher education is funding.

More than 1,300 students are enrolled this year.

At the start of the fall semester, Johnson C. Smith launched an emergency aid campaign for 300 students, and they raise more than 300,000 in a week.

- But at the end of the day, the thing that is oftentimes devastating is when we have students who want to be at JCSU but who cannot afford to stay.

- Higher education has changed a lot in the 20 years since Barber-Scotia lost his accreditation.

And so I, as the new president, along with the board of trustees and my faculty and staff, we have to approach this now, not with traditional eyes.

- [Beatrice] And at Barber-Scotia, they're doing more than marking the investiture of a new president.

They're looking at how they can become the hometown college in Cabarrus County.

- If you are a graduate of a Cabarrus County High School, and then you have a 2.0 GPA, you are automatically enrolled.

You are automatically enrolled at Barber-Scotia College.

- We represent 3% of all colleges and universities in the United States.

But when you take a look at our output data, we're punching well above our fighting weight.

- [Beatrice] For now, it's the start of a new year for the east college students.

And for HBCU presidents, it marks the beginning of another year where they lead the charge to fight for their students and their education.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Bea Thompson.

- Thank you so much, Bea.

About 9% of all Black college students are enrolled in HBCUs.

Well, craft breweries remain all the rage across the Carolinas.

It's an industry that hasn't been very diverse.

Over the past four years, Town Brewing Company has worked to change that through its internship, designed to get more people of color into the industry.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and videographer, John Branscum explain.

(bright music) - [Dara] Side by side, they work as husband and wife at Project LeanNation in Ballantyne.

It's a dream come true for Alexandra Sampson, owning a healthy meal prep store and having the backing of her husband.

- Kevin has definitely always supported me in being able to go after my goals and dreams.

- [Dara] Although he's happy to help his wife in any way, Kevin has his own dreams to thrive in the craft brewery industry.

- During the pandemic, my wife got me a virtual home brewing course, so that started me off on really kind of home brewing, and I was just like, "Wow, I can make beer at the house."

- [Dara] From there, he was hooked and eager to learn more.

So when he found out about the Many Faces Brewery Initiative internship hosted by Town Brewing Company in Charlotte, he knew it was the right choice.

- And it was like just a great opportunity for me to actually see the craft beer industry from the inside out.

So I definitely wanted to take advantage of that.

(upbeat music) - [Dara] The paid 10-week internship was founded by Brian Quinn to make the industry more diverse by giving people of color access to mentorship and hands-on training.

It's an extension of his initiative that began in 2020.

- Craft beer certainly has a stereotypical demographic of that, you know, bearded tattooed white guy that, you know, slurps down hazy IPAs.

- [Dara] Knowing that and seeing the nationwide unrest over the murder of George Floyd, Brian says he felt it was time for a change.

- I wanted to try to find some way to help craft beer kinda live up to that promise of really creating a community space, and one of the ways that I thought would be best to kind of, you know, address that issue was by expanding how we hire into the industry.

- [Dara] According to the latest data from the Brewers Association, less than 1% of breweries in the US are owned by African Americans.

A reality that Town Brewing Company bartender, Kam Marcus, hopes to change when he opens his own brewery.

- My opportunities have been very different in life.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

And I didn't really think that this would be an industry that I would kinda break into.

- [Dara] If you stop by the brewery on an evening when he is working, you'll find him taking orders and eloquently pouring up housemaid fresh golden beer topped with a creamy foam.

A few of the skills he learned when he was an intern with the program last summer.

- All right, guys.

- Thank you, sir.

- No problem.

Cheers.

He never hesitated to make me feel comfortable.

I felt simply like everyone else, just a person.

Color didn't matter.

- [Dara] You wouldn't know it when you meet him, but Kam admits he's a naturally shy person, and the internship taught him people skills that are must haves when dealing with the public.

- Not everybody is coming in with a smile right off the gate.

After a long day, it's okay, you're here, we're here.

We'll be here together.

- [Dara] For customers like Chad Kirkaby, he appreciates the positivity.

- Oh, he was great.

- [Dara] Chad says he also appreciates seeing inclusivity.

- Adding diversity and variety as a spice of life, you know?

I mean, you never know who you're gonna meet when you roll into places like this.

- [Dara] Cracking open a can of cold beer, Dedrick McFadden chats with his mentor, Brian, in the same space where he interned.

- I definitely spent more time at this brewery than any other because I knew I was welcomed here.

- [Dara] Dedrick learned a lot during his internship in 2021, like canning, cleaning tanks, and kegging.

And now that he's a production associate at HopFly in Charlotte, he knows his presence makes an impact.

- A lot of people like want to go to a place where they see people like themselves.

It's a comfort level thing.

It's just like, you look around and you're like, "Oh, okay, you know, I'm okay here."

- [Dara] That same level of comfort exists at 760 Craft Works in Huntersville where another former intern works.

- You don't see a lot of Black people, especially women in the industry.

If they're not behind the bar bartending, you don't see them in the brewhouse, you don't see them in management positions, you don't see them anywhere else.

So I was happy to have a space where I could explore those opportunities.

- Brittany Makitan tells me she's proud to know she's inspiring others with her role as an assistant brewer.

- In my old position as a nurse, you're kinda just one of hundreds, and I didn't really see myself as someone who could be encouraging or open doors for people in that role.

So it does feel nice to be in that position now.

- [Dara] As former interns continue to thrive, program leaders say they'll keep nurturing current interns so they too can forge a path that leads to more inclusivity.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Dara Khaalid.

- Thank you, Dara.

The internship happens every summer and participants get the opportunity to work at a number of breweries across our state.

Well, it's been 25 years since PBS debuted the Magic School Bus.

The show introduced millions of kids to the joy of learning as their imagination collided with science inside a very special yellow bus.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis joins us with the inspiring story of a local bus, making a positive impact right here in our area.

- So there's an annual festival called Burning Man.

It's a week long large scale desert festival, held annually since the mid 1980s out in the Western United States.

The goal of it is to focus on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.

A similar but smaller festival has been held each fall since 2007 in Georgia.

And when one local woman attended several years ago, she came back with an idea that she put into motion.

♪ That use to be ♪ York, South Carolina, like many American small towns, downtown comes alive in the summer months with an outdoor concert series.

A fun for the whole family type of event, with bounce houses, all sorts of games like Jenga and cornhole, and of course, popcorn funnel cakes and shaved ice.

- It's great.

We love to see York growing, and for families.

- [Jason] Pulling in down at the end of North Congress Street is something you wouldn't normally find at one of these events, a school bus.

- Everybody loves it.

I mean, it's so fun, and it's kind of like an old fashioned idea too.

I know it used to be like a thing back in the day, you know.

- [Jason] But it's not your typical school bus.

It's not yellow and doesn't carry kids.

- I mean, I've been working on this and trying to get it going for since, you know, 2016.

- [Jason] But what it does have is a unique name, The Kind Bus.

- Since it doesn't say book mobile on it, I definitely get like, "Oh, what is this?"

And then I'm like, "Come on to my bus."

And they're like, "Are you sure?"

- [Jason] Erin Macnabb admittedly wasn't much of a reader growing up.

- Not at all.

Nope.

- [Jason] In her 30s, she started getting into non-fiction educational type books, basically reading to learn something.

- And it just kept going like as I got better at it.

I was like, "Oh okay, this is good."

And then I kind of challenged myself, see if I could read like a whole stack, you know, in a year, and then it just kind of grew into a love.

- [Jason] While attending a festival in Georgia in 2016, Erin felt a little inspiration.

- Yeah, I mean, it set me on the mission to start like brainstorming.

It wasn't necessarily like a bus right away, but it was like definitely got my creative juices going.

- [Jason] She toyed with various ideas like a coffee shop or some sort of free store.

- But the more I pondered that, the more it came into me like realizing how much like stuff I'd be juggling and I just was not, it was overwhelming.

And then I like simplified and simplified into books.

- [Jason] Erin's goal slowly became clear, be involved in the community in a fun, interactive, creative way.

- Oh, yay.

- [Jason] Thanks to donations, Erin bought an old school bus off Facebook marketplace and began a long process of transforming it into her vision.

- I made a post on like the neighborhood next door I guess app and just was looking for someone to help me design the inside.

I really was at a loss of what to do or where to begin, or I didn't know where to start with that.

- [Jason] Someone who works with the school district saw Erin's post and recommended it become a project for Clover High School's engineering class.

- And she got the permission from the superintendent, and so I dropped it off at Clover High, and the seniors, they had, you know, had a ball.

They did their thing and they did awesome.

- [Jason] Clover High students went to work cutting out wood shelves, installing a kitchenette, building a track system for the books and just making things generally easier for Erin to navigate.

- Yeah, this is actually the idea of the senior kids, they just thought it'd be super easy to just store the books in here.

And then just, you just have to flip it up.

- [Jason] And the students weren't the only ones pitching in.

- Like the flooring for example, I went to Lowe's and just told them what I was doing and they gave me the flooring.

- [Jason] So they gave it, they comped it, gave it to you, and then they had someone install it?

- My dad installed it.

- [Jason] Toss in Erin's personal touches like butterflies, glittery skulls, plants, stickers, and ceramic flowers, and The Kind Bus was off and running.

- And then I just made like magnets out of old books and kind of like decoupage them and sparkles, and that's the intent is to just have like eventually so much going on in here, but like a color blast and just fun stuff to look at.

Even though it's just a bookmobile, it's kind of like a little like if inside of it, it's almost like a coming to life as like a sculpture, you know?

There's all kinds of weird stuff in there to look at.

I've started gluing like little animals on.

So over time, it's just gonna get funkier and funkier.

- I think it's so cute, and I love that she's bringing a love for reading and making it accessible for people, and it's adorable.

She has very cute style, hippie vibes.

- The kids love the PEZ dispensers.

I put magnets on those.

And so sometimes they'll be like, "Oh, can I have one?"

And I'll just be like, "Sure."

They take a little PEZ souvenir home.

- [Jason] But what would a bookmobile like The Kind Bus be without books?

Lots of them, all of which were donated, and all of which Erin offers free to anyone coming aboard.

- A lady came on, and she picked a couple books out, and she asked how much they were, and I told her they were free, and she just like had these tears in her eyes and she was so happy.

And like it just, yeah, it was like, oh that was, that's what I like to see.

- [Jason] Erin's original intent was to take the bus to various events all over the region, but she admits, it's a little bit hard to drive so she sticks close to home in and around York County, going to events like the summer concert series where kids not only enjoy the books but also the hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, and giant bubbles Erin's offers up.

- I want people to maybe know that they can come out of their everyday grind and do something creative.

Yeah, I think the world needs some more sparkle right now, so hopefully I can inspire that.

- Such a great program.

But one important question, how does she fund this?

- That's very good question.

Well, for starters, Erin does have a, quote, "real job".

She works in the financial tech or fintech industry.

She also has a side business selling tea, the Nimble Tea Company with proceeds from that going back into The Kind Bus.

And also she's had so many just donations from people.

Her dad helped, the high school helped, different people, you know, people donate the books.

So a lot of it is really kind of self-supportive and self-sufficient, so she's able to keep it going.

- Such a great community asset.

Thanks so much, Jason.

- Absolutely.

- Well, we need your help to find amazing people, just like Erin.

Please email us your ideas to stories@wtvi.org.

That's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time.

And look forward to seeing you back here again next time on "Carolina Impact".

Goodnight my friends.

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (uplifting music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(gentle music)