Design and Construction Report staff writer
The N.C. Department of Commerce has opened the first round of funding for a new $70 million program aimed at increasing the supply of safe, affordable rental housing in western North Carolina communities recovering from Hurricane Helene.
The funding opportunity, announced by the department’s Division of Community Revitalization, will support the construction of new multifamily housing and the rehabilitation of damaged rental properties through the Renew NC Multi-Family Construction and Repair Program.
The application period opens on June 25, 2026, and closes at 5:00 p.m. on November 2, 2026. To view the full NOFO, including additional information about eligibility criteria, scoring methodology, and application materials, visit the commercerecovery.nc.gov website.
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to complete an online prescreening prior to submitting an application. While not required, prescreening helps assess project and organizational readiness before entering the competitive application process.
“Hurricane Helene destroyed thousands of rental properties. Western North Carolinians need safe places to live,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement. “Through this new Renew NC program, we will build safe, affordable rental housing that will provide families with stable homes and strengthen the long-term resilience of the region.”
The program is funded through North Carolina’s $1.4 billion Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Renew NC is the state’s long-term disaster recovery initiative focused on rebuilding communities affected by Hurricane Helene.
The Multifamily Construction and Repair Program will provide grants ranging from $500,000 to $15 million for projects with five or more rental units. Eligible activities include new construction, substantial rehabilitation of existing multifamily housing, site preparation and infrastructure improvements, architectural and engineering services, and compliance with federal environmental, accessibility and construction requirements.
Eligible applicants include for-profit and nonprofit developers, public housing authorities, local governments and joint ventures among those entities. Applications will be evaluated based on organizational capacity, community need, project readiness, development strategy, leveraged resources and anticipated long-term outcomes.
