North Carolina Construction News staff writer
The 2022 Home Ownership Development Award has been presented to the City of Raleigh for the East College Park project. Awards were presented Sept. 7 at the 2022 NC Affordable Housing Conference.
The award recognizes the state’s best affordable housing initiatives.
East College Park was approved in 2017 to moderate residential values, increase homeownership opportunities, and encourage diversity within a historic neighborhood adjacent to St. Augustine’s University and five minutes from dowtown.
The city facilitated construction with project partners including CB Pugh Enterprises, Carolina Cottage, Evergreen Construction, RD Construction, Habitat for Humanity, and St. Augustine’s University Community Development Corporation.
The city used the Homebuyer Assistance Program and NC Housing Finance Agency’s Community Partners Loan Pool to provide new homeowners with down payment assistance.
Also, the development created jobs through a local job fair for contractors and builders and a partnership with Habitat for Humanity for an apprenticeship program.
The next phase of East College Park will include the addition of townhomes. Once completed, a total of 150 new homes will be added to the neighborhood.
“While this project has made a significant impact, we must continue to explore all options to address the issue of housing affordability so that everyone can build a life in Raleigh,” said Raleigh city manager Marchell Adams-David.