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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Two affordable housing projects will receive $3 million in loans from New Hanover County

New Hanover County Government Building.
Benjamin Schachtman
/
WHQR
New Hanover County Government Building.

The New Hanover County board of commissioners approved two proposals for affordable housing projects in the county during their October third meeting.

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners approved two proposals for affordable housing projects in the county during their Oct. 3 meeting.

In July of this year, the county requested proposals for a workforce housing services program, with funding of $3 million. This came after the board’s commitment in February to invest $15 million toward supporting affordable housing over the next five years.

The commissioners approved proposals from East Carolina Community Development and Terroir Development. Each project will receive $1.5 million in loans to construct affordable housing.

East Carolina Community Development proposed building 68 units of affordable senior housing in Castle Hayne in conjunction with New Beginning Christian Church.

The company, an affordable housing developer based in Beaufort, is ready to begin construction in June 2023 and estimated finishing in a year.

Terroir Development proposed constructing an 84-unit affordable housing development on Gordon Road, called Estrella Landing.

Terroir can begin construction in March 2023 and estimated finishing in December of 2024.

Each company requested 20 year loans with 2% interest, and county staff will work with the companies to finalize funding terms and agreements.

The county received four other proposals from Cape Fear Habitat, Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry, Cape Fear Collective, and Wilmington Realtors Foundation.

Staff didn’t recommend Cape Fear Habitat because the proposal was costly and the organization had already received county support from ARPA and property conveyance.

WARM requested urgent, safely-related repairs at single-family units, but county staff said they needed more information about WARM’S period of affordability after repairs.

Wilmington Realtors Foundation proposal was too costly to meet the county’s affordable housing priorities for the project, according to staff.

Cape Fear Collective requested funding to renovate and sell existing affordable properties, but county staff said they needed more information about pricing of those units and other site specifics.

Grace Vitaglione is a multimedia journalist, recently graduated from American University. I’m attracted to issues of inequity and my reporting has spanned racial disparities in healthcare, immigration detention and college culture. In the past, I’ve investigated ICE detainee deaths at the Investigative Reporting Workshop, worked on an award-winning investigative podcast and produced student-led video stories.