Today, Governor Josh Stein joined The Honorable Adrianne Todman, head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in Asheville to announce two major Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) awards, totaling more than $1.65 billion.
“I am deeply grateful to HUD and to our congressional delegation for its investment in the people of western North Carolina as they continue to recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene,” said Governor Josh Stein. “These grant awards will help us make progress rebuilding homes, repairing critical infrastructure, and providing relief to small businesses. I will continue to work with our federal and state partners to meet the urgent and long-term needs facing our western North Carolina neighbors.”
“This direct allocation to Asheville demonstrates the federal government’s understanding of our city’s unique recovery challenges and the urgency of rebuilding,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer. “These funds will give us the opportunity to repair and enhance infrastructure, address housing, and support business recovery. Restoring our city's infrastructure is a top priority and rebuilding stronger will ensure our long-term resilience. I am committed to using these funds strategically and equitably to create a stronger, more sustainable future for Asheville and Western North Carolina.”
“Western North Carolina communities have been impacted by devastating disasters — damaging homes, destroying infrastructure, and stretching local capacity to recover,” said HUD Agency Head, the Honorable Adrianne Todman. “This $1.65 billion in disaster discovery funds will help rebuild homes, develop affordable housing, assist impacted small businesses, and repair roads, schools, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure. The impacts of these funds will be felt for years to come — especially for disaster survivors and communities in the most impacted areas.”
The awards include $1,428,120,000 to the State of North Carolina and $225,010,000 directly to the City of Asheville, which is an “entitlement community” within the CDBG program. The funding comes from the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2025, enacted on Dec. 21, 2024.
Today, Governor Stein also visited Mountain BizWorks to meet with small business owners, visited the site of a trailer installment that will provide temporary shelter to an Old Fort family, and toured Old Fort with local elected officials to assess recovery needs and efforts.
Last week, Governor Stein used his first five executive orders to immediately ramp up Hurricane Helene relief efforts, including two executive orders that support the building of temporary shelter and the repair of private roads and bridges. Today, Stein issued his sixth executive order to address Hurricane Helene relief efforts, by waiving federal limits on the amount of time drivers of trucks transporting propane or essential heating fuels to western North Carolina can be on the road. By waiving the limits, the Governor is helping to ensure that all North Carolinians — but particularly those in the west who have been impacted first by Hurricane Helene and now by winter weather – maintain adequate supplies of heating fuels. Governor Stein is committed to supporting western North Carolina as they weather the winter months and beyond.