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Housing committee previews 13 CDBG‑DR multi‑family applications totaling 1,481 units
Summary
City staff told the Housing & Community Development Committee that 13 developers submitted 12 eligible applications for a CDBG‑DR multi‑family NOFO, requesting more than $70 million to build 1,481 units; staff will return with funding recommendations April 7 and seek Council action April 14.
Antionette Mosley, chair of the Housing and Community Development Committee, convened the March 17 meeting to hear a progress report on the city’s CDBG‑DR multi‑family construction NOFO. Community Economic Development Director Nikki Reed told the committee the city received 13 applications, 12 of which passed initial eligibility review, totaling 1,481 units and more than $450 million in estimated total development costs and more than $70 million in City CDBG‑DR requests.
Reed said the NOFO was published Jan. 21, developers attended a Jan. 30 virtual forum and the application window closed Feb. 25. The initial roll‑out noticed $10 million for shovel‑ready projects; Reed said a remaining $18 million in the multi‑family allocation could be used for future awards or reallocated to single‑family repair programs. She said staff and a cross‑departmental steering committee, working with consultants Tetra Tech and subconsultant Anker Highguard, are finalizing scores and underwriting pro formas and will present funding recommendations to HCD on April 7 and to City Council on April 14.
The applications include a range of LIHTC‑leveraged projects across the city. Reed summarized the highest‑level asks and proposals: Orchard Heights (Woda Cooper Companies) requested $4.8 million for a 9% LIHTC 96‑unit family project at 12 Airport Road; Harmony Housing sought $10 million for a 4% LIHTC, 203‑unit downtown family project at 50 Cox Avenue; Ferry Road and Ferry Road 2 (Mountain Housing Opportunities with Urban Atlantic) together seek roughly $13.5 million across family and senior components on a county land parcel; Arden Terrace requested $10 million for a 130‑unit 4% LIHTC family project on Sweeten Creek; other applicants include Taft Mills Group, Mountain Housing partnerships, Laurel Street (319 Biltmore), Blue Ridge Cascade (Apex on Hazel Mill) and Penrose (Caribou Commons and Sweeten Creek), with CDBG‑DR asks ranging from about $1.385 million to $10 million depending on the project.
Councilmembers focused questions on senior housing details, whether projects could proceed with partial awards and the other funding sources developers are seeking. "I would like to see the number of units at each income level," Councilwoman Sage Turner said, asking for a breakdown by AMI tier. Reed said staff is examining capital stacks and contingent resources and will seek to fund complete, shovel‑ready applications where feasible; she added the scoring tends to favor lower CDBG requests when other funding is confirmed, but many state and county funding requests remain pending.
Reed emphasized program priorities that informed the NOFO: disaster resilience through Enterprise Green Community Standards, mixed‑income affordability (income‑averaging under LIHTC) and strategic leveraging to maximize long‑term affordable housing impact. "We want to be very strategic about the overall recommendation and how we want to see and support these projects," Reed said.
The committee did not take action on awards at the March 17 meeting. Staff will return with a recommended funding strategy and detailed underwriting results on April 7; any HCD recommendation would then proceed to City Council for final approval on April 14.
