Chapel Hill Town Council Approves $689,000 Funding Plan for Affordable Housing and Community Development Activities

Town of Chapel Hill Summer Youth Employment Program

On June 11th, Chapel Hill Town Council approved the 2025-2026 Annual Action Plan for the use of $689,588 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding provided through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Town of Chapel Hill has received CDBG funding yearly since 1975 for affordable housing, community development, and public service projects that benefit low to moderate-income residents in Chapel Hill. Over the last 20 years, Chapel Hill has deployed over $10.5 million in CDBG funding into the community.

Community Home Trust acquisition of a single-family home from the Northside Neighborhood Initiative

This year’s plan includes funding for:

• EMPOWERment Inc.’s rehabilitation of 2 affordable rentals in the Pine Knolls and Northside communities;

• Habitat for Humanity’s Home Preservation & Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program, which will support major and minor repairs for 6 low-to-moderate income homebuyers;

• Home repairs for at least 8 low-income homeowners through a partnership with Rebuilding Together of the Triangle and the Orange County Home Preservation Coalition;

• Training and skill development for 25 individuals and repairs for 30 elderly households through Hope Renovations’ construction training program;

• 6 rehabilitations for the Town’s Transitional Housing Program;

• Part-time employment for 14 youth through the Town’s Summer Youth Employment Program;

• Transplanting Traditions Community Farm’s Growers School that will provide small business development and training for 15 refugee-owned farms;

• Inter-Faith Council for Social Service’s case management for households experiencing homelessness to access resources and secure permanent housing; and

• Crisis case management for limited English-proficient refugee and immigrant households experiencing housing instability or homelessness provided by Refugee Community Partnership’s multilingual staff.

To learn more about the Town’s CDBG program, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/cdbg or contact Melissa Peters, Funding Programs Coordinator, at mpeters2@townofchapelhill.org.

Council Approves Largest Affordable Housing Community in Chapel Hill History

On May 7, 2025, the Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved the Hillside Trace affordable housing community. The approval included a conditional rezoning of 3 adjacent parcels located at 607-617 Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd. The Taft-Mills Group, who is partnering with the Community Home Trust to develop the property, proposed the construction of 190 affordable apartments for households earning less than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The apartments will include a mix of 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units.

“We are thrilled that the Council has approved the largest affordable housing project in the Town’s history,” says Sarah Viñas, Director of the Town’s Affordable Housing & Community Connections Department. “This project will make substantial progress toward the Town’s affordable housing goals and is in an ideal location with its proximity to jobs, downtown amenities and public transit.”

The project is located less than a mile from downtown and sits along the Town’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. The project supports the Town’s goals for high density development in this area and contributes to the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan goal of adding as many as 900 units of affordable housing over the next 5 years. 

The Taft-Mills Group will apply for 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), tax exempt bonds, and local funding to help finance the project.

Council Approves $1.3 million in Funding to Support 57 Affordable Housing Units

On April 23, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved the allocation of $1,335,000 from the Town’s local Affordable Housing Funding Program. The funding will support the development of 53 new affordable units and preservation of 4 affordable units in the community. About 25 percent of the funded units will serve households earning 30 percent or less of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Funding awards include: 

• $1,250,000 to DHIC to support the construction of 53 affordable apartments for seniors in the Maddry Meadows project.

• $85,000 to EmPOWERment, Inc. for exterior renovations on 4 units in the Creekside Trail community (formerly University Gardens).

“Providing funding to support these projects advances the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan, creating new affordable rental housing opportunities for extremely low income people and preserving existing affordable housing in Chapel Hill,” says Sarah Vinas, Director of Affordable Housing and Community Connections. “We appreciate the ongoing commitment of our community partners, now more than ever, as we work together to address the region’s dire need for affordable housing.”

Town staff considered six funding requests totaling nearly $2.5 million in this funding round.  The next round of local funding will be released this summer, which will include up to $3.5 million in funding from the 2024 bond referendum.

Council Approves 53-unit Affordable Housing Community on Homestead Road

On April 23, 2025, the Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved the Maddry Meadows affordable housing community. The approval included a conditional rezoning of the parcel located at 2510 Homestead Road, across the street from the Orange County Seymour Senior Center. The developer, DHIC, has proposed the construction of 53 affordable apartments for households ages 55 and older earning less than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). For 2025, 60% AMI is about $48,600 for a 1-person household and $55,500 for a 2-person household. 13 of the units will serve households earning 30 percent or less of AMI.

The project is applying for a 2025 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) award, which could bring more than $10 million in funding to the project. Town Council approved $1.25 million in local funding for the project the same night.

The project utilized the Town’s expedited review process for affordable housing, which allows residential projects that include at least 25 percent of units as affordable to go through the rezoning process in under 6 months.

Town Making Progress in Implementing Affordable Housing Plan

Affordable Housing & Community Connections began implementing the Affordable Housing Plan and Investment Strategy in Fiscal Year 2025 and has created this Implementation Update Report to track progress on the Plan’s 14 recommendations. Council approved the Plan in September 2023, which outlines four key focus areas for the Town’s affordable housing work over the next five years.

Key accomplishments in the first two quarters of implementation include:

• Town allocated $100,000 to support 132 households in paying their 2024 property tax bill.

• Voters approved a 2024 bond referendum dedicating $15 million to affordable housing activities.

• Council approved giving staff authority to establish and administer a single Affordable Housing Funding Program for its local funding.

• Town and its partners, Self-Help and UNC Health, launched a $20 million Affordable Housing Loan Fund.

• Town hired and onboarded 3 new staff.

For more information, contact Town of Chapel Hill Affordable Housing and Community Connections at 919.968.2743 or housingandcommunity@townofchapelhill.org. 

Town Provides Nearly $100,000 in Property Tax Assistance to Low-Income Homeowners

For the second year in a row, the Town provided almost $100,000 in property tax assistance to homeowners in Chapel Hill in partnership with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and Orange County. This funding follows one of the recommendations in the Town’s Council-approved Affordable Housing Plan and Investment Strategy as a way of expanding and preserving affordable homeownership.

This year, 132 low-income households were assisted, many of whom were elderly and people of color. See below for more details about the program results. Across the two years of the program, a total of 175 households received assistance; about half received assistance in both years.

For more information, please contact Town of Chapel Hill Affordable Housing and Community Connections at (919) 968-2743 or housingandcommunity@townofchapelhill.org.

Town Releases Affordable Housing FY25 Mid-Year Report

Town staff released the Fiscal Year 2025 Affordable Housing Mid-Year Report on March 31, 2025. The report highlights the Town’s housing needs and provides updates on the Town’s key affordable housing activities as of December 2024.

Key highlights from the report for the period from July 1 – December 31, 2024 include:

• The Town launched the $10 million Affordable Housing Loan Fund in partnership with Self-Help Ventures Fund and UNC Hospitals.

• 25 affordable rental units opened at 900 Willow at University Place.

• Habitat for Humanity completed their Gattis Court project in the Northside Neighborhood and the first 9 units in their Weavers Grove project.

• The Town funded the rehabilitation of 6 units owned by low-income homeowners.

• The Longleaf Trace project received a 2024 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit award to support the development of 48 affordable units for low-income seniors.

For the remaining half of the fiscal year, staff will focus on reaching key milestones including the allocation of local affordable housing funding, the release of the first round of 2024 affordable housing bond funding, and moving toward groundbreaking on two development projects on Town-owned land.

Town Launches $20M Affordable Housing Loan Fund

The Town of Chapel Hill is excited to launch a $20 million Affordable Housing Loan Fund, in partnership with UNC Health and Self-Help Ventures Fund. The fund is expected to support the preservation or creation of at least 600 affordable housing units over the next 20 years.

In 2023, the Town and UNC Health committed a total of $5.7 million in seed funding. Self-Help Ventures Fund leveraged the investments to attract additional capital from banking partners to create the $20 million fund. The new fund will provide below-market loans to support the acquisition, preservation, and creation of affordable housing in Chapel Hill.

“The Town is thrilled to launch this new tool to support the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Chapel Hill,” said Sarah Vinas, Director of the Town’s Affordable Housing & Community Connections Department. “We appreciate UNC Health and Self Help’s partnership on the Loan Fund. This is a great example of what we can accomplish together when we work across industries to address one of the community’s greatest challenges.”

“UNC Health is proud to partner with the Town of Chapel Hill on this important initiative. Affordable housing is an issue impacting the entire community,” explained Janet Hadar, President of UNC Hospitals. “As individual entities we can’t solve this crisis alone, but by working together, we can make a more meaningful change and positively impact residents and the community. We look forward to seeing what the loan fund will accomplish.”

The creation of the Affordable Housing Loan Fund aligns with the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan, which was approved by the Town Council in 2023 and advances the Town’s affordable housing goals.

The Town selected Self-Help Ventures Fund as the administrator of the Affordable Housing Loan Fund. Self-Help is a leading national Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with extensive lending and underwriting experience, as well as affordable housing development experience across the Triangle and state of North Carolina.

"Building stronger communities in the Triangle through partnerships that support affordable housing aligns perfectly with our commitment to work for economic opportunity for all," shared JJ Froehlich, Housing Sector Leader with Self-Help's Commercial Lending team. “Creating and preserving affordable housing is a vital part of our mission.”

Two types of loans are available through the fund. Loans for preservation or creation of affordable housing may range from a minimum size of $500,000 up to $7 million and can either serve as 5-year bridge financing or 15-year permanent subordinate financing. As Fund Administrator, Self-Help will oversee the review, evaluation, and underwriting of loan applications and the monitoring of all loans issued. Developers interested in applying for loans should contact the Self-Help Ventures Fund lending team at multifamilyloans@self-help.org.

Up to $1.75 million available for Affordable Housing and Community Development Activities

The Town of Chapel Hill released up to $1.75 million to support affordable housing and community development projects on February 3, 2025. Applications will be due at 12:00pm on Monday, March 3.

This year’s funding includes up to $1.3 million from the Town’s local Affordable Housing Funding Program (AHFP) and up to $450,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. This year, the Town is coordinating the release of its local and federal CDBG funding to streamline the application process. The common funding application and accompanying materials are available here.

“The Town has streamlined our affordable housing funding program to increase efficiency, transparency, and equity. We look forward to deploying funding through this application cycle to continue making progress to address the vital need for affordable housing in the community,” says Sarah Vinas, Director of Affordable Housing and Community Connections.

Eligible uses of this funding include:

• Construction of New Affordable Housing

• Land Acquisition and Land Banking

• Rehabilitation and Redevelopment

• Future Development Planning

• Rental, Utility, and Relocation Assistance

• Financial Assistance to Homeowners

• Public Services (CDBG funding only)

• Economic Development (CDBG funding only)

The Town’s Affordable Housing and Community Connections Departments will hold a virtual information session for potential applicants at 10:00 am on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025. Town staff encourage both prior and new applicants to attend this webinar to learn about important updates about the process and application. Information on how to register for the webinar will be posted here.

Email Emily Holt, Affordable Housing Manager, at eholt@townofchapelhill.org for more information.

Town of Chapel Hill Bond Referendum Approved, including $15M for Affordable Housing

Chapel Hill voters approved a municipal bond referendum on November 5, 2024, with support from 73% of voters. The bonds will allow the Town to borrow up to $44 million in general obligation bonds, including $15 million for affordable housing. General obligation bonds are one of the most cost-effective ways for cities and towns to make major infrastructure investments.

"Chapel Hill residents have overwhelmingly reaffirmed their support for affordable housing by approving the recent affordable housing bond.  Our team is ready to move forward quickly to put the bond funding to good use addressing the many needs for more affordable housing in the community,” says Sarah Vinas, Director of Affordable Housing and Community Connections.   

The $15 million for affordable housing will support implementation of the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan & Investment Strategy that Council adopted in September 2023. That plan makes recommendations for the Town’s affordable housing work over the next five years, which it estimates will require $50 million to implement.  Full implementation of the Plan is estimated to support the development of as many as 900 new affordable homes and the preservation of as many as 400.

In spring 2024, Council discussed potential projects that the 2024 bond could support. The affordable housing funds could support several Town-initiated development and preservation projects on Town-owned land as well as partner projects.

In addition to the $15 million for affordable housing, the referendum includes the following bond orders and other potential projects:

·       $15 million for public facilities$7.5 million for streets and sidewalks  $4.5 million for parks and recreation

·       $2 million for greenwaysTown staff are currently designing the allocation process for the 2024 affordable housing bond. For more information, see the 2024 Town Bond Referendum webpage.