Lumbee Tribe, local municipalities awarded $43.2 million for affordable housing

RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTW) — The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency has awarded $43.2 million from the Affordable Housing Development Fund to local municipal governments and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina for affordable housing, according to a news release by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

This will be the third round of affordable housing funding that prioritized government entities that did not receive affordable housing funds from the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency.

The counties include Bladen, Duplin, Jones, Pamlico, Pender and Scotland counties, the release said.

Local and tribal governments were encouraged to apply for financing for single-family homeownership developments, multifamily housing rehabilitation, or new construction outside of the 100-year floodplain, according to the release.

The funds will be used to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing in areas of the state that experienced damage from hurricanes Matthew and Florence, the release said.

“This third round of affordable housing funding is particularly exciting because local and tribal governments are first-time recipients of the long-term disaster recovery housing grant program,” said Michele Wiggins, NCORR housing opportunities manager. “The funds will play a critical role in replenishing single and multifamily units damaged and destroyed by past storms.”

The first project selected was a single-family homeownership development project led by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The initiative will build 30 single family homes and will target individuals at 80% or below area median income, the release said.

This project has also designated housing units for veterans and those with physical disabilities. It will use other funding sources from the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act and local HUD Community Development Block Grant funds, according to the release.

The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency awarded the project $7,425,000 to complete the $11,016,500 total cost, the release said.

“I want to thank my team for securing this historic $7.4 million in funds from the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency,” said Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery. “We look forward to building thirty single-family homes and securing a brighter future through homeownership for these Lumbee families.”

Lumbee Tribal Administrator Ricky Harris said the funding will allow the tribe to assist families with housing, the release said.

“This year we celebrated the construction of our 250th home and we currently have single-family home construction underway at several sites across the Lumbee Tribal Territory,” said Harris. “This funding will allow us to expand on our efforts with the construction of new homes for families.”

The second grant recipient, Scotland County, will use the $9,656,244 award to finance the I. Ellis Johnson multifamily housing site, which will create 55 rental units, according to the release.

The project also plans to use funding from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency through its supportive Housing American Rescue Plan program and bank loans to complete the project in partnership with the Southeastern Community Action Partnership, the release said.

The town of Maysville in Jones County is the third awardee and plans to use the $9,725,000 in to build White Oak Landing Apartments. The town will partner with Carolina Statewide Development, LLC, to build 40 units of affordable multifamily housing, according to the release.

The fourth awardee, Pamlico County, will receive $6,688,212 to develop Pamlico Grove apartments, a 56-unit development, 29 of which will be funded by the AHDF grant.

The housing project will be built by Mills Property Development, LLC, and will utilize federal tax credits and bank loans to complete the $13,575,566 total project cost, the release said.

The final recipient of long-term affordable housing funds is the town of Beulaville, in Duplin County, which will receive $9,706,000. The town will work with developer Carolina Statewide Development, LLC, to build 40 multifamily rental units in an area where few rental housing options exist, the release said.

Eligible counties include those that were federally- and state-identified as most impacted and distressed due to Hurricane Matthew and/or Hurricane Florence.

The Affordable Housing Development Fund Program is supported by North Carolina’s HUD Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery funding for hurricanes Matthew and Florence and Tropical Storm Fred, the release said.