On Thursday, the Town of Ronda purchased a 5.1 acre tract of land straddling the city limits at the southern end of Gwyn Street for $22,000, which will be developed into a mixed-income rental community of 20 to 24 dwellings similar in design to town homes.

The acquired property was donated to Winston-Salem First Church (Assemblies of God) by the late Brenda Eller Tucker and Husband Scipio Tucker. Mrs. Tucker’s desire was that the land, which had belonged to her mother, Ollie Gwyn Eller, be used to benefit the community. Mrs. Tucker passed away last year before the land could be sold.

This project will provide quality affordable housing in eastern Wilkes County where there are few choices for people seeking a rental home. Developing the property will be a joint effort between Ronda and the Appalachian Housing Initiative Community Development Corporation (AHICDC), a non-profit organization affiliated with the North Wilkesboro Division of the United Methodist Church.

It is the desire of both the Town of Ronda and the AHICDC to make the construction a "green project," employing the best energy savings technologies and generating the least amount of waste materials. The Town of Ronda will annex the portion of the property lying outside the city limits, approximately half the land, and will provide water, sewer, garbage pickup and recycling services to the development.