The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency this week committed to funding more than 1,000 new, affordable housing units in regions of state hit hard by hurricanes Matthew and Florence, including coastal North Carolina.
About $53.5 million of the state’s share of federal Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds are to be used in a deal with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, public housing authorities in the cities of Lumberton and Wilson, and Cumberland County government to increase safe, affordable housing opportunities for low- to moderate-income households, the state announced Tuesday.
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“New affordable housing units are planned for communities throughout eastern North Carolina including coastal communities, pending satisfactory environmental review and HUD approval of the projects,” Laura Hogshead, director of the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency told Coastal Review. “Building resilience in eastern North Carolina is a critical goal for ReBuild NC programs, and includes increasing the availability of affordable housing through the construction of new housing outside of vulnerable floodplains. NCORR is currently partnering with three subrecipients of HUD CDBG-DR funds: N.C. Housing Finance Agency, public housing authorities in the cities of Wilson and Lumberton, and Cumberland County.”
Pending environmental review and approval, construction of the new housing is expected to be completed before 2026. The units are to be offered as rentals for eligible households. More information on the projects will be made available on NCORR’s ReBuild NC website.
“Safe, affordable housing is key to long-term recovery and resiliency in areas impacted by Matthew, Florence and other natural disasters,” said Gov. Roy Cooper in a statement. “This funding commitment underscores our efforts to rebuild smarter and stronger for North Carolina families.”
As of Tuesday, NCORR plans to fund the following individual projects pending environmental review and approval:
N.C. Housing Finance Agency projects
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- New Bern – 60-unit development.
- Wilmington – 72-unit development and 84-unit development.
- Shallotte – 72-unit development.
- Jacksonville – 72-unit development.
- Goldsboro – 48-unit development.
- Fayetteville – two, 80-unit developments and a 72-unit development.
- Rocky Mount – 64-unit development and 50-unit development.
- Whiteville – 60-unit development
- Lumberton – 66-unit development and 72-unit development
Other projects
- Cumberland County project in Fayetteville – 12-unit development
- Housing Authority of the City of Lumberton project – 72-unit development
- Wilson Housing Authority project in Wilson County – 32-unit development
Cooper established the agency after Hurricane Florence to streamline disaster recovery programs statewide and help communities rebuild smarter and stronger.
Through its recovery and resiliency programs, NCORR has committed $285.2 million to homeowners for repairs and reconstructions, small businesses for recovery, local governments for infrastructure, and N.C. Housing Finance Agency for the construction of new affordable housing in areas impacted by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, according to the state. Learn more about NCORR’s programs at ReBuild.NC.gov.
