City staff asked the Asheville City Council to allocate $10,000,000 of the 2024 general obligation housing bond to the WNC Affordable Housing Loan Fund, a revolving loan fund administered by Self Help Credit Union that provides low-interest loans for affordable housing projects. The request was presented during the council's Sept. 4 agenda briefing.

The loan fund, created in early 2024 through a partnership between Self Help Credit Union and Dogwood Health Trust, operates on a rolling application basis and is already active in four other North Carolina regions. Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said the city’s participation “strategically leverages city funds with other partners such as Dogwood Health” and frees city staff from underwriting and loan administration by using Self Help’s existing capacity.

The Housing & Community Development (HCD) council committee reviewed the request in August and recommended unanimous approval of the $10 million allocation, according to staff. Ben Woody told council this funding would be routed into multifamily construction financing, while other bond funds would be reserved for other housing priorities.

Staff described the broader 2024 bond spending strategy that accompanies the $10 million loan-fund allocation: of the remaining $10 million from the $20 million housing bond, $3 million is proposed to be provided to the state-administered CDBG-DR (Disaster Recovery) home repair program, $6 million to the city’s housing trust fund targeted at down-payment assistance, homeownership projects and land acquisition, and $1 million for home repair projects. Those allocations will come back for additional council review and committee discussion, staff said.

Council members asked for clarity about alternative uses and for summaries of committee discussions. Council member Sage Turner asked whether some funds could be reallocated to the city’s housing trust fund to create an additional local loan pool rather than routing all multifamily construction dollars through Self Help. Ben Woody said the request from HCD for the $10 million allocation was the item before council and that staff would include the broader bond spending strategy in the staff report for Tuesday's business meeting.

The briefing did not include a formal council vote; the item will appear on the council consent or business agenda for the Sept. 9 meeting for formal action.