Commissioners approve $2M county investment in Proximity Blue Clay and create $4M workforce housing fund

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners on July 13 approved a $2,000,000 investment in Proximity Blue Clay, a 236‑unit townhome community proposed by Cape Fear Development, and established a $4,000,000 Workforce Housing Investment Fund drawn from the county's Revenue Stabilization Fund.

County staff said Proximity Blue Clay would target households earning 60%–90% of area median income (AMI) and would restrict rents to that AMI band for 10 years. The board's investment would be structured as subordinated debt with a 10‑year term and a 5% annual interest rate; staff said the principal would be returned in full at the end of the term. Staff emphasized the developer already has entitlements and could build the project by right without county participation, but that county funds would enable reduced rents for a decade.

"They have the zoning in place to construct exactly what they wanna construct. They're gonna build it whether we're a part of that or not," county staff said, adding that the county's participation is intended to secure affordability rather than alter unit count or density. Commissioners also noted the county's investment would earn a higher yield than current short‑term bond market alternatives: "What's being offered here is 5%. In other words, we're making money," a commissioner said in support.

Jennifer Ripley, chief strategy officer, presented parameters for the new Workforce Housing Investment Fund: up to $2,000,000 per project, county investment not to exceed 20% of total project cost, and a suggested minimum of 20% of units in each funded project targeted to households earning 60%–120% AMI. Ripley said recovered principal and interest could be reinvested into future projects.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about staffing, oversight and potential incentives such as expedited plan review, coordinated permitting, priority inspections and fee reductions. Staff said the county's finance office would manage investments and that the incentives are policy options for future deals, not part of the Proximity Blue Clay agreement before the board.

The board approved the Proximity Blue Clay investment and creation of the fund by voice vote; the motion passed unanimously. Staff summarized that the $2,000,000 for Proximity Blue Clay would come from the Revenue Stabilization Fund and that the $4,000,000 Fund would include $2,000,000 reserved for future projects.