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Greensboro housing director outlines Road to 10,000 goals and agency programs
Summary
Samuel Hunter, director of Greensboro’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, described the department’s programs — which he said are grants, not loans — outlined staffing and capacity limits, and urged public participation ahead of an April 30 regional housing summit.
Samuel Hunter, director of the Greensboro Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, said the city is pushing to expand housing supply through the Road to 10,000 initiative while relying on grant-funded programs and outside partners to deliver services.
"All of these programs are a grant," Hunter said, describing neighborhood improvement and other assistance programs administered by his office. He told the Talk City Greensboro podcast that the department provides gap financing for multifamily developers, supports some single-family work and runs neighborhood-improvement grants that cover repairs such as siding, windows, doors and ADA ramps. He said the office also operates a lead-safe program for homes built before 1978 to identify and abate lead-based paint hazards.
Hunter said the department has "approximately 18 full-time employees," and that limited staff and funding shape how aggressively the city can pursue production targets. When the department identifies funding shortfalls, he said, it prepares metrics and recommendations that are shared with the city manager’s office and the Greensboro City Council to request additional resources or policy direction.
On workforce and development connections, Hunter framed housing as essential to retaining graduates and new employees that arrive with major employers. He described the Road to 10,000 as the city’s primary five-year housing goal and said the department must rethink the 2020 GSO housing plan because that document relied largely on pre-pandemic data.
Partnerships are central to the department’s work, Hunter said. The city does not itself build housing but provides gap financing and relies on nonprofit partners to administer programs. As one example, Hunter said the city works with Housing Consultants Group to operate its down-payment assistance program.
Hunter also highlighted communication channels for residents: the department’s page on the city website and a new listserve maintained with the city’s marketing and communications team to distribute program and event notifications.
He urged public engagement, saying council presentations and community input help shape recommendations that reach decision-makers. Hunter noted he has served as director for eight months and said his top objective in five years would be achieving the Road to 10,000 target.
Looking ahead, Hunter invited residents and partners to the regional housing summit hosted with High Point, Winston-Salem and the Piedmont Triad Regional Council on Thursday, April 30 at the Terrace at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hunter encouraged listeners to consult the department website for event details and program information.
The department’s next procedural step, as described on the program, is to continue compiling metrics and community feedback and to present those materials to the city manager and City Council for budget and policy decisions.
