Governor Stein Announces $53 Million Funding Opportunity for Western North Carolina Workforce Housing

Today the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization (DCR) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that makes $53.38 million in federal funding available to develop workforce housing units for homeownership across western North Carolina.

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

The Renew NC Workforce Housing for Ownership (WHFO) Program is intended to address an urgent need within HUD-identified Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) counties to provide more opportunities for affordable homeownership. The WHFO Program will fund projects in Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey counties.  

Having additional housing options for the local workforce enables and incentivizes a broader segment of households to remain in western North Carolina as recovery from Hurricane Helene continues. Under WHFO guidelines, “workforce” refers to households earning up to 80% of the area median income.  

“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.” 

Eligible applicants include:  

• For-profit housing developers  
• Non-profit housing developers, including CHDOs and CBDOs  
• Community Land Trusts (CLTs)  
• Public housing authorities and local units of government  
• Joint ventures among eligible entities demonstrating sufficient development capacity and financial oversight  
• Other applicant types approved at DCR’s discretion that demonstrate the ability to develop, own, or manage affordable housing in compliance with CDBG-DR and WHFO requirements  

Proposals will be competitively scored based on applicant capacity, community need, soundness of development approach, leveraged resources, and projected long-term outcomes. Projects will be ranked by score, with awards made to top-ranking proposals subject to threshold compliance, project readiness, and fund availability.  

Award amounts will range from $2 million to $5 million per project. Eligible property types must:  

• Be designed for for-sale residential use;  
• Meet all applicable construction, accessibility, environmental, zoning, broadband, and energy efficiency requirements;  
• Qualify as real property under North Carolina law, including being permanently affixed to land and transferable by deed; and  
• Exclude manufactured or mobile homes located within any flood zone (including 100-year, 500-year, or non-encroachment areas), as these are ineligible for funding.  

All projects must directly support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts and comply with federal HUD regulations.  

"By supporting affordable homeownership for our workforce, we are ensuring that the people who serve our mountain towns every single day have safe, high-quality places to call home," said Stephanie McGarrah, Deputy Secretary for Community Revitalization.  

The application window opens on August 25, 2026, and closes at 5:00 p.m. on December 13, 2026. To view the complete NOFO, eligibility criteria, scoring details, and application materials, visit commercerecovery.nc.gov. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to complete an online prescreening prior to submission to evaluate project readiness.  

Renew NC is North Carolina’s long-term disaster recovery initiative, committed to rebuilding Hurricane Helene-impacted communities stronger and more resilient to future storms. Administered through the NC Department of Commerce Division of Community Revitalization, Renew NC is supported by a $1.4 billion Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  

Currently, Renew NC is accepting applications for the Community Infrastructure Program and the Multi-Family Construction and Repair (MCR) Program: Non-LIHTC. The Infrastructure Program provides competitive grants for projects that improve community hazard resilience, while the MCR Program expands affordable rental options (five or more units) in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.  

To learn more or apply, visit commercerecovery.nc.gov.  

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