Last Updated on August 27, 2026 6:07 am
Watauga County is among 10 western North Carolina counties selected to receive a share of more than $69 million in federal disaster recovery funding aimed at expanding affordable rental housing, Gov. Josh Stein announced this week.
The funding, awarded through the state's Rental Production Program for Disaster Recovery, will support 10 projects expected to create 828 new affordable rental units across Ashe, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Haywood, Henderson, Rutherford, Transylvania and Watauga counties. The program combines Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
“Getting families back into safe housing that they can afford is critical to the recovery from Hurricane Helene,” Stein said, adding that the program is designed to keep the new units affordable for at least 30 years.
Recipients of the low-cost financing must comply with income limits, rent restrictions and other requirements for a minimum 30-year affordability period, with the state monitoring the projects throughout that time to ensure continued compliance.
The announcement follows last month's state budget, which included more than $700 million for Hurricane Helene recovery, including $40 million for Renew NC's Temporary Relocation Assistance program and $35 million in additional grants for volunteer organizations helping repair and rebuild storm-damaged housing.
Recipients must fully commit non-administrative funds and submit required documentation by Oct. 30, 2030, with all program activities completed and funds expended by Jan. 28, 2031.
Editor's note: The version of this release provided to media did not include project-level detail identifying the specific Watauga County development or developer. WataugaOnline will update this story if that information becomes available.
