The millions of dollars in federal affordable housing funds up for grabs last spring brought high hopes that Buncombe County could replace hundreds of dwellings destroyed by Helene and, maybe, make a dent in its crushing need for subsidized housing.
Spurred by what one housing advocate called an “unprecedented” funding opportunity, thirteen developers submitted applications to compete for a bolstered pot of tax-credit funding and a share of $69 million in Community Development Block Grant disaster-recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.
But those hopes were largely dashed in August — especially among Buncombe County Commissioners — when the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency released its annual list of funded affordable housing projects…