Monday, December 19, 2022

27 North Carolina Communities Receive $42.3 Million in Neighborhood Revitalization Grants

Raleigh, N.C.
Dec 19, 2022

The North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded 30 Community Development Block Grant - Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) fund requests to 27 local governments totaling $42.3 million. The requests will provide housing and public improvements for low- and moderate-income North Carolinians. 

“North Carolina has made significant investments in our communities to help them provide affordable housing,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “Building stronger and more resilient communities is important to our economic success and these neighborhood revitalization grants will support them in doing just that.”

The CDBG-NR program offers non-entitlement municipalities and counties the opportunity to tailor community development projects to address the specific and most critical needs of their communities. This year’s awards include $5 million in funding that was earmarked by the N.C General Assembly exclusively for the Rural Community Development (RCD) Fund, a set aside for non-housing community development projects in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties.

“These additional federal resources will help our most vulnerable communities as building and living costs have increased,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “This is a banner year for economic development and this infusion of funding will greatly benefit more North Carolina families and local economies by providing more housing options, jobs, and economic opportunities.”

The program conducted two rounds of funding with increased maximum per grant awards to offset the rising construction costs and other special needs that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The first round of funding included 18 projects receiving a total of $15.7 million in CDBG-NR awards up to $950,000. These communities include:

Community County Award
Anson County Anson County $950,000
Town of Ansonville Anson County $950,000
Avery County Avery County $950,000
Buncombe County Buncombe County $400,000
Town of Cramerton  Gaston County $950,000
Duplin County Duplin County $617,222
Town of Fair Bluff Columbus County $950,000
Town of Fairmont Robeson County $950,000
City of High Shoals Gaston County $950,000
Hyde County  Hyde County  $950,000
Jones County Jones County $950,000
Town of Leland Brunswick County $442,500
McDowell County  McDowell County  $950,000
City of Newton Catawba County $950,000
City of Oxford Granville County $950,000
City of Sanford  Lee County $950,000
Town of Tabor City  Columbus County $950,000
City of Thomasville Davidson County $950,000

Round two of CDBG-NR funding included 12 projects totaling $26.6 million with a maximum award of $5 million.  Among these is Granite Falls, the first recipient of the Rural Community Development Fund. These communities include:

eth
Community County Award
Alexander County  Alexander County  $645,044
Town of Brunswick Columbus County  $2,000,000
Town of Elizabethtown Bladen County $2,575,000
Town of Granite Falls Caldwell County $4,999,000
Hyde County Hyde County $1,231,388
Martin County  Martin County  $550,000
McDowell County McDowell County $5,000,000
Pamlico County  Pamlico County  $2,280,400
Town of Princeville Edgecombe County  $625,000
City of Sanford Lee County $4,947,521
Town of Seaboard Northampton County $235,939
Town of Stantonsburg Wilson County  $1,562,500

The CDBG program is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program administered in part by N.C. Commerce Rural Economic Development Division. CDBG funds are awarded to enhance the vitality of communities by providing adequate housing, suitable living environments, infrastructure development, and expanding economic opportunities. The State must ensure that at least 70 percent of its CDBG grant funds are used for activities and projects that serve households of low- and moderate-income.

Visit the N.C. Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division webpage for more information.