North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Renew NC, the state’s long-term disaster recovery initiative, has completed storm-related repairs on the first home approved through its Single-Family Housing Program (SFHP), a milestone in rebuilding after Hurricane Helene. The program is funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
North Carolina is the first state affected by Hurricane Helene to launch a federally funded home reconstruction program and the fastest in over a decade—since Hurricane Sandy—to begin rebuilding using HUD CDBG-DR funding.
“Rebuilding safe and sustainable housing is crucial to helping western North Carolina get back on its feet,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Completing our first home is an important milestone in the Hurricane Helene recovery process. I applaud my team for moving at record speed.”
Administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization (DCR), the SFHP has received more than 1,900 applications. A public dashboard at RenewNC.org tracks application status by county and level of review, updated daily.
The program uses $807 million in federal funding to prioritize low- to moderate-income families in areas hardest hit by the storm. Homeowners in 29 counties are eligible to apply.
“With the construction phase of our Single-Family Housing Program underway, we’re looking forward to helping restore housing stability across the region,” said Stephanie McGarrah, Deputy Secretary of the Division of Community Revitalization.
The program employs western North Carolinians at call centers, mobile pop-up sites, and canvassing teams that identify eligible homeowners. The “neighbors helping neighbors” approach helped increase applications from 1,000 on August 12 to over 1,900 by August 27.
Applications are open to homeowners in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey counties, plus ZIP code 28214 in Mecklenburg County.
Of the $1.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding allocated to western North Carolina recovery, $807 million supports the SFHP. Later this year, Renew NC will launch Multi-Family Housing and Workforce Housing for Ownership programs, alongside Infrastructure and Economic Revitalization initiatives.Renew NC programs are funded through a Community
Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Of the total $1.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding allocated to the state for western North Carolina recovery needs, $807 million supports the Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program.
Later this year, Renew NC will introduce two additional housing programs: Multi-Family Housing for small rental projects with seven or fewer units and larger projects with eight or more, and Workforce Housing for Ownership for the development of homeownership opportunities that are affordable to broader segments of the workforce. Infrastructure and Economic Revitalization programs will also be launched in the coming months.
More information about the administration of the Renew NC programs can be found on the Division of Community Revitalization’s website at CommerceRecovery.nc.gov.