In July 2023, we opened our doors to the Felton-Russell House at 250 E. 11th Street in Southport. This was possible because of the outstanding support from the community, local businesses, civic clubs, churches and foundation grants.

By May 2025, seven families have moved to permanent housing.

The BPH building houses the office and four units for transitional housing. Three of the four units are designed for unsheltered families with children. The fourth unit is a handicapped accessible transitional housing unit reserved for unsheltered individuals exiting a medical facility or with special needs who need additional time to stabilize.

What’s next

BPH Purchases AT&T Property stepping toward its misison to bring affordable housing to Brunswick County

In April 2025, BPH acquired the AT&T lot adjacent to its property. 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.” 

“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.