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Council committee recommends approval of additional loan for Fairhaven Summit; city interest totals about 10% of project cost
Summary
Council staff and committee members discussed a request to add $607,000 in Housing Trust Fund (HTF) loan to the Fairhaven Summit affordable housing project, bringing the city's HTF support to $1.4 million and the combined per-unit subsidy to about $32,000.
City staff told the Asheville City Council on May 22 that Fairhaven Summit, an affordable housing development currently under construction, is requesting an additional $607,000 loan from the city's Housing Trust Fund to fill a financing gap caused in part by delays and cost escalation after Tropical Storm Helene.
Ben Woody, assistant city manager, told council the development was awarded 9% tax credits in February 2022 and will have 77 affordable units with a range of incomes from 30% to 80% of area median income; "the majority of these units are gonna be at 60% or lower," he said. The project is under construction with an anticipated completion in November.
Woody summarized the city's prior commitments: $500,000 awarded in April 2023 and $375,000 in December 2023, which together equal $875,000 in existing HTF loans. The requested $607,000 would raise the city's HTF loan total to $1,400,000. Woody said the project previously received a land-use FINF grant with a maximum just over $1,000,000, and estimated the city's total financial interest is about 10% of the project cost. He provided the per-unit subsidy figures: about $19,000 per unit from HTF alone and roughly $32,000 per unit when land-use funding is included.
The Housing and Community Development Council committee voted 3-0 this week to recommend approval of the additional loan to full council. Woody said the loan increase is intended to keep the project moving and close the financing gap that followed the storm-related delays.
What happens next: council staff will include the item on the May 27 agenda for council consideration; no final council action was recorded at the May 22 briefing.
