Gov. Stein announces funding for housing in Western NC

This week, Gov. Josh Stein announced federal awards of more than $69 million to bring affordable rental housing to Western North Carolina. In 2024, the region lost thousands of rentals in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Stein also announced the availability of $53.4 million in competitive federal grants to develop workforce housing units for homeownership across Western North Carolina, bringing total housing investments announced this week to more than $120 million.

The awards for rental units will go to 10 developers in 10 counties to provide more than 828 affordable units. The awards range from $1.7 million to $13.5 million. The money will help fund projects in Ashe, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Haywood, Henderson, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Watauga counties.

“Getting families back into safe housing that they can afford is critical to the recovery from Hurricane Helene,” Stein said in a press release. “This program will ensure these 828 apartments remain financially accessible to people living in the 828 area code for the next 30 years.”

The money comes from more than $69 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds administered and monitored by the state Department of Commerce and the N.C. Housing Finance Agency.

Award recipients must comply with income limits, rent restrictions, and other program requirements for a minimum 30-year affordability period. The state Department of Commerce will monitor projects throughout the affordability period to ensure compliance with federal requirements and confirm that units serve eligible low- and moderate-income households.

Margaret Fenton Lebeck, CEO of the Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) in Hendersonville, told NC Newsline that the federal dollars will go a long way toward providing rentals in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene.

“We had an immense housing crunch before in the counties that our organization works in,” Fenton Lebeck said. “We were at 99.3% occupancy before the hurricane, and so to lose any housing at all just made finding housing that people could afford so much harder.”

Meanwhile, funding for the competitive workforce housing grants will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and be administered by the Renew NC Workforce Housing for Ownership (WHFO) Program to provide homeowner opportunities in areas most “impacted and distressed” by Hurricane Helene. Workforce housing refers to households earning up to 80% of the area median income.

Eligible counties include Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey counties.

“This $53 million investment will expand access to affordable housing across western North Carolina as the region continues to recover from Hurricane Helene,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement. “It’s a critical step toward helping our neighbors rebuild in the places they call home.”

Eligible applicants include for-profit housing developers, non-profit housing developers, Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and public housing authorities and counties and municipalities among others.

Award amounts will range from $2 million to $5 million per project.

“Retaining a strong workforce depends on access to affordable housing,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “Through the Workforce Housing for Ownership Program, we will help increase the supply of housing available to working families and foster more resilient local economies as communities recover from Helene.”

The application window opened Tuesday and closes at 5:00 p.m. on December 13, 2026. The eligibility criteria, scoring details, and application materials can be found at commercerecovery.nc.gov.