Affordable housing bond projects inch toward closing; county extends allocation windows

Staff presented an update on bond-funded affordable housing projects and told the committee there were no changes to fund distribution since the previous presentation, but that the county has reimbursed some expenditures for contracted projects.

Matt, who presented the update, said three projects have existing allocations and contracts but have not yet closed. He explained that bond disbursements are reimbursement-based and require certification by an engineer with supporting financial documentation. "These funds are only reimbursed upon proven expenditures that are certified by an engineer with supporting financial documentation showing the expenses occurred," Matt said. He noted the Maribel project has received additional reimbursements since the last update.

To allow projects additional time to complete lender and contractor steps, staff extended allocation windows: the original window that would have expired June 30, 2025 was extended by an additional six months and staff plan to add another six-month extension iteratively if projects continue to show progress toward closing. Matt told the committee the delays are typically caused by iterative capital-stack work, lender timing and rising project costs rather than issues unique to county bond funding.

Finance staff also briefed the committee on audit and debt-planning: the audit remains underway and Buncombe County has issued one debt tranche of $15,000,000 from an authorized $70,000,000; additional issuance is being planned for future tranches before 2029, with staff identifying candidate projects for inclusion in the next debt offering.

Staff said they will share slides and further documentation with the committee and offer to return with more detailed timeline information at the next meeting.