Brunswick Partnership for Housing Purchases AT&T Property
Brunswick Partnership for Housing (BPH) has acquired the AT&T lot adjacent to its property at 250 E. 11th Street, Southport, NC. Through this purchase, BPH doubled square footage of its open property to more than 30,000 square feet.
“We were fortunate to work with AT&T to acquire this property,” said Barry Fulton, BPH board chair. “AT&T diligently worked with us as we finalized the purchase. In addition, an anonymous donor stepped in to cover the cost of this strategic purchase.”
“At AT&T, we are committed to supporting local communities and organizations like the Brunswick Partnership for Housing who are making a difference in the lives of so many North Carolinians,” said Joey Nelson, Regional Director of External Affairs, AT&T North Carolina. “We are proud to work alongside BPH to help them achieve their mission of providing safe, affordable housing in Brunswick County.”
The support will continue with AT&T sponsoring the 2025 countywide Sleep Out Brunswick fundraiser October 24 and 25 at Brunswick Community College. This annual fundraiser provides participants with an awareness of what homelessness can feel like through the Poverty Simulation©. It also raises funds to provide needed services and transitional housing for people in need in Brunswick County.
“Adding this lot to our property makes the development of affordable rental housing possible at a time of great need in Brunswick County,” said Sally Learned, BPH executive director. “We can now explore and develop future affordable housing opportunities while continuing to serve the transitional housing needs of unsheltered families here,” she said.
According to Learned, Brunswick County functionally has a 0% vacancy rate for rental housing. This has driven up rental costs, pricing many rental units out of reach for many of those working in our communities. “Brunswick County employers will continue to face issues of recruiting and maintaining employees until more units, priced for people working at $16-$20 an hour, are made available,” she said.
Since opening the Felton-Russell House in 2023, BPH has provided transitional housing for eight families to date. Of those, five families have successfully moved to permanent housing. There are three families currently residing there and progressing toward their goal of permanent housing.