North Carolina will use $807 million in federal funding to repair and rebuild the thousands of homes damaged by Hurricane Helene.
Renew NC is now accepting applications from single-family homeowners who make low-to-moderate income and had their home damaged by the storm.
The program takes a major slice from the $1.4 billion Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery grant allocated to the state by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Matt Calabria, the head of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, visited Marion – where one of Renew NC’s three new headquarters is located – this week to celebrate the program’s kickoff.
“Our goal is to do the very best that we can to have the speediest and most robust and efficient and effective recovery that we possibly can,” he told BPR.
“We know that there are a lot of people who are dealing with damaged homes right now, who have been displaced, and we want you to get back into a safe, secure, stable home as quickly as we reasonably can.”
In addition to the Marion office, Renew NC will also operate out of Asheville and Boone. There will be around 75 case managers statewide to help applicants through the process, Calabria said.
Horne LLP, a contractor, will receive $81 million from the state over three years to lead the program. Other contractors will also be involved, Calabria added.
The program will manage and complete construction on behalf of qualifying homeowners.
This method “alleviates the burden on residents to have to deal with the various financial and paperwork requirements,” Calabria said.
Homeowners may not select their contractors and will not contract directly with builders. In certain situations, the program may reimburse homeowners for repairs made to their homes.
Renew NC will work in tandem with the housing recovery programs offered by FEMA, which include the Hazard Mitigation Program and the Individuals and Households Program. Applicants who were ineligible or were unable to completely repair their homes through FEMA assistance are encouraged to apply.
The state has also set aside $191 million in federal funding for the repair of multi-family housing. Information on that program will be released later this year.
Who is eligible?
The program will prioritize households with seniors, young children and individuals with disabilities. Applicants must make under 120% of the area median income. For a family of four, that income would be up to:
- $111,720 in Buncombe County
- $106,200 in Haywood County
- $105,960 in Transylvania County
- $91,680 in Ashe County
Homes eligible for repair must also be the owner’s primary residence and anyone who gets a home repaired must commit to staying in their home for the next three years.
Eligible homeowners from these counties may apply: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg (only from ZIP code 28214), Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.
How to apply
Applicants can call 888-791-0207, visit renewnc.org or visit a resource center.
Locations include:
- Asheville (128 Bingham Rd., Suite 875)
- Boone (379 New Market Blvd., Suite 1)
- Marion (364 US Highway 70, Suite 3)
