N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency touts affordable housing successes

Greg Childress
·3 min read

NCORR and City of Greenville officials attend ribbon cutting ceremony at Arlington Trace. (Photo: NCORR)

The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is reporting that it has spent $51.2 million to build 752 new low-income rental units in the aftermath of hurricanes Matthew and Florence, as well as areas damaged by Tropical Storm Fred. Another 1,430 such rental units are planned to increase the availability of safe, affordable housing in areas heavily impacted by the storms, the agency said in a news release.

A headshot of Laura Hogshead, director of ReBuild NC. She is a white woman who appears to be in her early 40s, with shoulder-length blond hair. She is smiling.
A headshot of Laura Hogshead, director of ReBuild NC. She is a white woman who appears to be in her early 40s, with shoulder-length blond hair. She is smiling.

“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.”

In total, the agency said $171.5 million has been committed to affordable housing development in areas impacted by the storms. NCORR 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. The NCORR Community Development Office administers multiple housing programs, including the Affordable Housing Development Fund, Multifamily Development Fund and the Public Housing Restoration Fund.

In recent months, the agency reports that 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.

In recent years, NCORR has faced heavy criticism from homeowners, lawmakers and emergency management experts over its handling of hurricane recovery efforts after hurricanes Matthew and Florence hit North Carolina in October 2016 and August 2018 respectively. As recently as last year, NC Newsline reported that more than 3,100 hurricane survivors were still “mired in the system, most of them stranded in motels, apartments, campers or in their damaged homes.”

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