| The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is building community resilience across North Carolina with more than $171.5 million committed to affordable housing development in hurricane-impacted communities. In total, NCORR is funding 2,182 units of affordable housing. To date, $51.2 million has been spent to build 752 new low-income rental units and 1,430 more units are planned with funding awarded to additional projects. The financial assistance aims to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing in areas of the state impacted by hurricanes Matthew and Florence, as well as areas damaged by Tropical Storm Fred.
“Our efforts to help rebuild communities includes increasing housing stock for North Carolina cities and towns that were hit hard by past hurricanes,” said NCORR Director Laura Hogshead. “If you don’t provide a safe place for people to come back to, then you haven’t really done holistic hurricane recovery.” The NCORR Community Development Office administers multiple housing programs, including the Affordable Housing Development Fund, Multifamily Development Fundand the Public Housing Restoration Fund. Through these programs, municipal and tribal governments have been awarded funding for multifamily housing rehabilitation or new construction outside of the 100-year floodplain, which will increase community resilience during future storms and flooding. In recent months, four projects financed in part by the Affordable Housing Development Fund have opened to tenants: Five Points Crossing in Rocky Mount was completed in February with a $4.9 million award to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, who partnered with the city to develop 50 units of affordable housing on a vacant lot in the city’s downtown core. The city was a recipient of NCORR’s first round of Affordable Housing Development funding. A ribbon-cutting event was held in March. Northeast Pointe II in Lumberton held a ribbon-cutting event in early June to celebrate its grand opening and full occupancy. The affordable housing community is comprised of 72 units which are rented to families earning 50- 60% of the Area Median Income. Northeast Pointe II was a recipient of NCORR’s first round of Affordable Housing Development funding which was distributed through NCHFA and their qualification process. CDBG-DR funding for the project totaled $3.5 million. Crestfield Point Apartments in Jacksonville was awarded $4.3 million in Round 1 of the Affordable Housing Development Fund through a partnership with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. The apartments held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19 and consists of 72 units. The city was a recipient of NCORR’s first round of Affordable Housing Development funding. The City of Greenville was awarded $5 million for the development of Arlington Trace. The 180-unit project was funded as a shovel-ready project that qualified for a 4% tax credit due to the long-term affordability of the development. The city was a recipient of NCORR’s second round of Affordable Housing Development funding. N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency housing programs are funded by the state’s Community Development Block Grant‒Disaster Recovery grant for Hurricane Florence and Community Development Block Grant‒Mitigation grant. In addition to disaster recovery and affordable housing, NCORR manages programs that support resiliency, mitigation, strategic buyout, infrastructure and housing stability. |
