Council authorizes $1.24 million conditional gap financing for 28‑unit city land affordable housing project

City staff on June 16 asked council to authorize a conditional commitment of $1,239,762 in gap financing to support a fully affordable development on three small city‑owned parcels at Cabaris and East Street.

Pat Dawson, the city’s housing and community development lead, said staff selected Local Post after evaluating seven proposals and interviews with the top teams. “Local Post stood out for its strong design team, proven track record and their micro‑suite model,” Dawson said. Since March, staff and the developer revised the program to increase affordable units by two, expand unit types to include one‑ and two‑bedroom units, and set income limits so the entire project targets households at 60% of area median income (AMI) or less. Dawson said 60% AMI for a family of four is $79,380 and for a single individual is $55,620.

Developer Stuart Cullinan described the micro‑suite approach as an efficient way to deliver density at neighborhood scale. He said the final program would deliver 28 affordable units, including eight supportive housing units and three units supported by Wake County rental assistance. He told council the project is expected to require a city subsidy request of roughly $1.24 million and a long‑term ground lease of no less than 75 years.

Council voted to authorize the conditional commitment, transfer the budget, and direct staff to execute necessary loan and lease documents. Staff said loan commitments from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and Wake County were already part of the package and the project aims to deliver permanent affordability on city land.

Next steps include finalizing ground‑lease terms, executing loan documents and returning with required implementation and closing documents.