Today the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization (DCR) announced a first-round Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), making $70 million in federal funding available to help increase the availability of safe and affordable rental housing in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
“Hurricane Helene destroyed thousands of rental properties. Western North Carolinians need safe places to live," said Governor Josh Stein. “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."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 Renew NC Multi-Family Construction and Repair (MCR) Program is intended to serve multi-family rental properties with five or more rental units and includes the rehabilitation or development and construction of new rental housing stock. The Non-Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (Non-LIHTC) track addresses potential projects that do not qualify for or receive LIHTC under the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s (NCHFA) 2026 Qualified Allocation Plan.
Renew NC is North Carolina’s long-term disaster recovery effort, committed to rebuilding impacted communities stronger so they are more resilient against future storms. Renew NC is administered through the North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Community Revitalization, funded by a $1.4 billion Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The MCR Program will fund projects in HUD-identified and State-identified Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas, including Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg (28214 ZIP code only), Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey counties.
“Expanding access to quality rental housing is critical to western North Carolina’s economic recovery and future growth,” said NC Commerce Sec. Lee Lilley. “With more affordable housing, we’re building better more durable communities and creating stronger foundations for economic opportunity.”
Eligible applicants for the MCR Program with non-LIHTC projects include for-profit and non-profit developers, public housing authorities, local governments, and joint ventures between these entities.
Potential applicants can learn more about how to access and submit an application at the commercerecovery.nc.gov website. Proposals will be competitively scored based on applicant capacity, community need, soundness of development approach, leveraged resources, and projected long-term outcomes. Projects will be ranked by total score, with awards made to the highest-ranking projects, subject to threshold compliance, readiness, and availability of funds.
Award amounts will range from $500,000 to $15 million per project. Eligible activities will include, but not be limited to:
- New construction of multi-family rental units;
- Substantial rehabilitation of existing rental units;
- Related site preparation and infrastructure improvements;
- Soft costs such as architectural and engineering fees;
- Compliance with HUD environmental, construction, and accessibility requirements.
All projects must be tied to Hurricane Helene recovery and meet HUD and federal program requirements. Applicants must agree to provide affordable rent rates for a 20-year period following program construction to be considered for award.
“This is our third Renew NC program dedicated to supporting housing recovery in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene,” said Stephanie McGarrah, Deputy Secretary of Community Revitalization. "With the Multi-Family Construction and Repair Program, we're excited to extend the reach of disaster recovery to families in need of safe and affordable housing."
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.
Additional Renew NC disaster recovery programs
Currently, Renew NC is accepting applications its Small Rental Rehabilitation (SRR) Program and Commercial District Revitalization (CDR) Program, as well. Funded with $57.4 million in CDBG-DR grant funds, the SRR program can help eligible rental property owners (landlords) repair, reconstruct, or replace rental properties with four or fewer units that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. The CDR Program is designed to help eligible local governments and nonprofit organizations revitalize designated commercial districts damaged by Helene. Applications are open now through August 4, 2026.
To learn more about these Renew NC programs and apply online, visit the commercerecovery.nc.gov website.