The leadership for Winston-Salem’s housing authority says it’s not selling Crystal Towers.
It comes after tenants released a letter demanding protections if they lose their homes.
ASPIRE is currently seeking a nonprofit to help with a potential redevelopment of Crystal Towers. The downtown, affordable housing complex has long needed repairs.
In a letter, the Crystal Towers United tenant association asked for legal protections for residents if the building were sold. It included a guaranteed right for individuals to return after any redevelopment, among other things.
Gwendolyn Hay has lived at Crystal Towers for 19 years. She said at a recent press conference that residents want clarity.
"If they're going to do it, let us know," Hay said. "Because where the heck are we going? There's a housing shortage in Winston-Salem."
But ASPIRE Executive Director Ted Ortiviz says the building is not currently for sale.
“We'll continue to fill the building if we do have vacancies; our community needs affordable housing," he says. "If work orders are submitted, we'll go in and complete those work orders. It'll be business as usual for our staff.”
Ortiviz says he’s putting together an advisory committee of residents and local officials to review proposals for Crystal Towers for transparency.