Council committee backs $10 million allocation to regional loan fund to leverage local bond dollars

The Housing and Community Development Committee unanimously voted Aug. 19 to recommend that City Council allocate $10 million of the November 2024 affordable-housing bond to the Western North Carolina Affordable Housing Loan Fund (WNC Fund) to support affordable rental housing inside Asheville city limits. Sasha Burtynsky, the city’s affordable housing officer, told the committee that voters had approved a $20 million affordable-housing bond last November and staff developed a strategy to deploy the funds alongside state and federal sources. “We have put together a strategy, looking at a number of sources,” Burtynsky said, and staff recommended dedicating $10 million to the WNC Fund for multifamily construction gap financing. Representatives of Self Help Ventures Fund, which administers the regional fund, described how the fund operates and why the city’s contribution would be leveraged. JJ…