About
Our History
In the early 2000s a number of community reports documented the need for public service worker housing. Carroll Parker, a former educator and county commissioner, and other community leaders concerned about the lack of housing for teachers formed a non-profit organization, Transylvania County Community Land Trust, Inc. (operating as Transylvania Housing Trust - THT) in January of 2009. The original project envisioned a collaborative approach with Transylvania County Schools and students enrolled in building trade classes to construct homes on land owned by the school system near Brevard High School. Due to many different issues, the project, as envisioned, failed to materialize. THT board members continued to meet and discuss ways to support other housing related organizations, but eventually the non-profit went dormant.
In late 2024, remaining board members of THT were made aware of a collaboration between First United Methodist Church of Brevard, Sharing House (Transylvania Christian Ministries) and Rosman Middle/High School regarding the possibility of constructing teacher focused housing on the former property of First United Methodist Church of Rosman. Significantly, Alan Winchester, leading this collaborative effort, had obtained commitments of nearly $650,000 to move this project forward. THT agreed to support the construction and management of three houses on a parcel next to Rosman Middle/High School provided the homes were for public school teachers.
While this current effort only represents three homes, THT seeks to increase our capacity to develop a long-term sustainable model that addresses the shortage of affordable housing for public sector employees living in Transylvania County. Our hope is that other communities across Western NC will see this as a model to adopt.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide affordable housing and housing opportunities for current and future public sector employees, focusing on families earning 80-120% of area median income (AMI) for whom there are no assistance programs. This sector is often referred to as the "missing middle' and is comprised of many public sector employees like teachers, law enforcement officer, medical staffers, etc., who cannot afford market rate housing.
Our Board
Mark Burrows
Mark retired from Transylvania County after serving over 30 years as the County's Planning, Economic and Community Developer. He spent decades supporting economic growth in Transylvania County and Western NC. He is a founding member of the Transylvania County Community Land Trust and was the Vice-Chair of the Asheville Regional Housing Consortium for over 18 years.
Claudia Hawkins
Claudia is a CPA serving clients in Transylvania County. Her recent experience includes work with local non-profits, Brevard Music Center, and The Gardner Institute. She currently serves on the board of Pisgah Legal Services as Finance Committee Chair.
Bill Carrington
Bill recently retired as the Regional Director of Self-Help Credit Union where he managed 16 branches across Western NC, SC, and VA. He championed financial services for low-income and underserved communities and currently volunteers at Sharing House and serves on its Board of Directors and chairs the Finance Committee.
Alan Winchester
Alan is a native of Brevard, NC but spent his career in the Research Triangle area building healthcare IT companies like Medic Computer systems, Canopy Sytems, and RxMedic Systems. Alan and his wife Nora are committed to supporting Transylvania County students and educators.
Sheryl Fortune
Sheryl served as Director of Housing Programs for WNCSource (formerly known as WCCA) for 33 years where she was instrumental in developing several low-income rental properties in Brevard and managed the agency's Federal low-income housing rental assistance programs. She is a founding member of the Transylvania County Community Land Trust.
Susan Ellinger
Susan has practiced law in North and South Carolina for 33 years after tenures as a Housing Authority professional in Greenville, SC and Raleigh, NC specializing in affordable housing and community development law.
She has assisted municipalities, lenders, non profits, housing authorities and faith based organizations in creating affordable housing for thousands of families.
