Centralina relaunches HUD housing‑preservation pilot offering up to $50,000 per home

Centralina Regional Council presented a relaunch of a HUD housing preservation pilot to the Huntersville Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5, describing a two‑year program to fund repairs, accessibility upgrades and weatherization for low‑ and moderate‑income older adults, veterans and people with disabilities. "It's in the spirit of the same quote that we used from Commissioner Lane Powell for District 1," Centralina director Christina Danis said, adding the program was funded in 2023 but delayed. "As part of the program, each of the 3 towns will receive up to $250,000 each — a total of $750,000. Out of that $250,000 for each town, up to 5 homeowners will receive $50,000 to do substantial rehabs for their homes." Danis outlined program features: funds will address health and safety code violations, weatherization, accessibility modifications and quality‑of‑life upgrades; Centralina will oversee HUD reporting and environmental reviews under 2 CFR 200; and a regional pilot partner will be procured by RFP to coordinate participant selection, program evaluation and contractor oversight. Danis said Centralina will track barriers that have kept eligible homeowners from participating in past programs, including concerns about liens, paperwork and trust, and use evaluation findings to streamline administrative processes and build local capacity. She said the pilot will produce a playbook of aging‑in‑place design details and recommend commonly useful products and practices. Timeline presented by Centralina includes subrecipient agreements with the three towns targeted in September, procurement of the pilot partner and aging‑in‑place design partner around October 2025, homeowner outreach beginning in November 2025, intake and inspections late in the year, construction starting early the next year with completion by the following summer, and grant closeout by Dec. 2027. Danis identified Centralina staff Lovetta Walton as the staff member who will handle HUD reporting and day‑to‑day questions and said Centralina will coordinate environmental review work required by HUD once specific properties are selected. No formal board action on the grant was recorded at the meeting; staff said they will return with subrecipient agreements and other implementation documents as the pilot moves forward.