The North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded 20 Community Development Block Grant - Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) fund requests to 20 local governments totaling $25.8 million. The requests will provide housing and public improvements for low- and moderate-income North Carolinians.

“We’ve continued to make major investments in North Carolina communities that need support with affordable housing,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “These neighborhood revitalization grants will help rural communities improve economic prosperity for all of their residents.”

The CDBG-NR program offers non-entitlement municipalities and counties the opportunity to tailor community development projects to address the specific and most critical needs of their communities.

Communities were awarded additional funds above the initial amount they requested if they were impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Helene. This storm damaged, and in some cases eliminated, a significant amount of housing and major infrastructure in many of our communities.

“Families impacted by the devastation of Helene will especially benefit from this federal funding as they work to recover and rebuild,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “The storm further highlighted the critical need for safe and affordable housing, and these funds will help close the gap a little more.”

This round of funding includes 20 projects receiving CDBG-NR awards up to $4,000,000.00. Some communities impacted by the hurricane were awarded grants above the typical grant award of $950,000. The communities receiving funds include:

“In 2024, the Community Development Block Grant program awarded grants totaling $51.6 million that will support economic development, housing, and neighborhood revitalization projects,” said Kenny Flowers, Assistant Secretary for Rural Economic Development. “This program and the related funding provide critical resources to our most economically distressed communities and helps build a foundation for their long-term economic development and neighborhood revitalization efforts.”

The CDBG program is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program administered in part by the N.C. Commerce Rural Economic Development Division. Since 2017, more than $355 million CDBG grants have been awarded in North Carolina to enhance the vitality of communities by providing adequate housing, suitable living environments, infrastructure development, and expanding economic opportunities. The State must ensure that at least 70 percent of its CDBG grant funds are used for activities and projects that serve households of low- and moderate-income.

Visit the N.C. Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division webpage for more information.