FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A New York developer is turning two former hotels in Fayetteville into affordable apartments.

The former Baymont Ramada Inn and the Holiday Inn & Bordeaux Convention Center on Owen Drive in Fayetteville are transitioning into studio and 1-bedroom style apartments.

Rent will range from $800 to $1,050 per month, developer David Mitchell said.

“I think we need more apartments around like that,” Walter Whitt, a Fayetteville resident said.

These apartments will be walking distance from the growing Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with multiple businesses surrounding the hospital.

Marie Taylor, a Fayetteville resident said, she thinks it’s a great idea even though she worries about pedestrian traffic.

“They could build maybe an over(pass), a walkway, or something. That might help,” Taylor said.

These apartments are coming at a time there is a desperate need for affordable homes in North Carolina.

According to Fayetteville’s mayor, Mitch Colvin, 20,000 people in Fayetteville spend 60 percent or more of their income just on housing.

“I know the cost of living has gone up. But the checks haven’t,” Whitt said.

These apartments are expected to take 1-2 years to complete.