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The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is supporting Haywood County in the launch of their Affordable Housing Development Fund (AHDF) program and invites qualified public, private and nonprofit organizations to apply for financing for multifamily or single-family housing rehabilitation and new construction projects in Haywood County. The program aims to provide rental or homeownership housing opportunities outside of the 100-year floodplain. A total of $10 million will be awarded by summer 2024 for housing projects that increase community resilience.
The funds will be used to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing in a part of the state that experienced major damage from Tropical Storm Fred. Haywood County, like other communities in the state, was already experiencing an affordable housing shortage prior to the major flooding and landslides that resulted in hundreds of destroyed structures in 2021. The award funds will be used to replace some of the lost housing.
“We appreciate the leadership of NCORR staff and the county team that have been instrumental in getting this housing recovery program off the ground,” noted Haywood County Director, Community and Economic Development David Francis. “Haywood County is very fortunate to have an opportunity like this.”
On Monday, Oct. 16, Haywood County Commissioners approved the amended subrecipient agreement to act as subgrantee of the federal disaster recovery community development funding, which includes a supplemental allocation from HUD and an extension of the grant time period.
The Haywood County Affordable Housing Development Fund Panel will be evaluating and selecting projects to be funded, which may include single-family and multifamily developments. A broad list of eligible applicants is encouraged to apply for financial assistance, including community agencies, nonprofit organizations, property management organizations, developers, Community Housing Development Organizations, Community-Based Development Organizations or any other partnerships comprised of the listed agencies.
“NCORR has been partnering with Haywood County since HUD announced plans for a CDBG-DR grant for Tropical Storm Fred recovery. We partnered with county staff to incorporate input from over 60 interviews with local government staff, nonprofit organizations, commercial developers and local business leaders to ensure grant funds are invested in projects that meet local needs,” said NCORR Community Development Director Tracey Colores. “We will continue to support the county as they select beneficiaries and administer the program.”
Letters of Interest will be due March 1, 2024, in advance of the program application deadline of May 1, 2024. Letters of Interest are nonbinding but mandatory for applications. To assist interested parties with the application process, informational and technical assistance webinars will be held for all interested parties to support the submission of proposals. The first information session will be held virtually on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
Information about the Letter of Interest process, eligibility requirements for interested grant applicants and information session details are available on the Haywood County Affordable Housing Programs webpage.
The Affordable Housing Development Fund Program – Haywood County is supported by North Carolina’s HUD Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding for Tropical Storm Fred. Additional AHDF Programs administered by NCORR are supported by N.C’s HUD CDBG-DR funding for hurricanes Matthew and Florence The AHDF programs are part of multiple housing programs overseen by NCORR through its Community Development Office, which also administers the Multifamily Development Fund, Public Housing Restoration Fund, Homeownership Assistance Program and Infrastructure Recovery Program. In addition to disaster recovery and affordable housing, the office manages programs that support resiliency, mitigation, strategic buyout, infrastructure, local government grants and loans, and pandemic-related rent and utility assistance.
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