It's no secret that the Charlotte region is rapidly growing.

You might be surprised to learn, though, so is affordable housing construction, according to a new report.

Our area has the third fastest growth nationwide.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and videographer Russ Hunsinger give us a closer look at how this is shaping up.

- It's been nearly a year since we were last at this site in Concord that's soon to be known as the sanctuary, and a lot of progress has been made.

(hammer thumping) - I want to welcome you to what is formally the Kerr Street Baptist Church in Concord.

This church is over a hundred years old.

It's been empty for well over 20 years.

- [Dara] You may remember this video when we took you inside the once abandoned church.

We saw chipped paint and graffiti-drenched walls, busted, boarded up windows, and some miraculously colorful stained glass still in nearly perfect condition.

Since our last visit, look at what's been done.

WeBuild Concord, the affordable workforce housing developer, has made great progress.

Completion is expected by the end of May.

- It will have 13 loft apartments that are affordable.

It will have incubator space for entrepreneurs.

The WeBuild's headquarters will be actually in the same place.

- [Dara] Let's take a tour.

- So here we are in one of our two-bedroom apartments.

- [Dara] WeBuild Concord CEO Dr.

Patrick Graham shows us how they've converted empty space that once had cold, wet concrete floors into warm, inviting lofts with high-end appliances.

- It has beautiful quartz countertops, it has really nice shelving.

These are things that provide dignity to a family 'cause when you're talking about affordability, that doesn't mean it has to be cheap.

- [Dara] This nearly $3.8 million development and others like it across our region are helping Charlotte rank as the third fastest growing metro in the country for affordable apartment construction, following only behind San Antonio and Phoenix, according to a report by rentcafe.com, - A one-bedroom could be somewhere around seven, 800 to a three-bedroom being around 15 or 1,600.

But it really depends on the income.

So people sort of flow in between those.

I think that what's great about our model is people are met where they are.

- [Dara] The report also highlights that from 2020 to 2024, our area completed over 6,000 affordable apartments, making up about 11% of all new apartment construction during that time.

While this progress is great, Patrick has seen an alarming trend.

- Here in Concord, I think one of the things too that we've noticed is as these developments have become more prominent, you are also seeing a transference of wealth like we've never seen from private individuals to corporations.

A lot of these corporations are actually the individual entities that own many of these new developments.

So by 2030, it's predicted that about 40% of our housing stock will be owned by corporations, - [Dara] Which could be problematic for the future.

- When you think about that, that means people like you and I, people who are working may not own at the rates that they once did, and that's been one of the keys to wealth.

- [Dara] Patrick and his team at WeBuild are actively working to address this issue.

One of the ways they're doing that is through their pipeline to home ownership.

- One of the things that we do with all our rental spaces is that everyone still gets home ownership and financial training because eventually we want them not to just rent, but we want them to own.

We've been really trying to focus on social engineering communities, that you have younger families that have ownership at an early stage so that hopefully in the future, we'll have communities that are even more stable.

- I'm happy that I'm able to be in a position to buy a house so young.

- [Dara] Meet 26-year-old Shaakira Mierez, - Congratulations.

(audience cheering) - [Dara] giving a speech right outside the brand new town home she purchased through WeBuild.

This year, the organization has seen 57% of new buyers under 30.

For Shaakira, this accomplishment isn't just a victory for her, but for her newborn baby girl too.

- My daughter is now gonna be able to grow up and say, "Okay, my mom was able to buy a home at such a young age.

She worked hard for it.

She did what she needed to do."

So now I hope that would instill in her that she knows she could do it too.

- [Dara] Cuddling her daughter inside their three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home, Shaakira has a sense of peace, knowing there's enough room for her daughter to have her own space and that she's paying less for her new mortgage than she was renting a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment.

- In my rent, I was paying about 1,240 a month plus, you know, electricity and other bills that I had, and now I'm paying a little bit less than $1,000.

That's great.

(laughs) - [Dara] That monthly savings gives her options.

- [Shaakira] Having that money available to be able to save, do a little bit extra spending 'cause I like to shop, just being able to spend a little bit more for her than I would be able to at an apartment is nice.

- [Dara] For Patrick and the team at WeBuild, this is what it's all about, creating pathways for people to thrive.

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