Overview
The Town’s local Affordable Housing Funding Program (AHFP) provides funding to create and preserve affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households in Chapel Hill. Key information about the AHFP is included below.
Priorities
- Rental housing for households earning less than 50% of the current Area Median Income (AMI)
- High impact projects, such as projects with more than 50 units and/or projects primarily serving populations with high housing barriers or historically marginalized populations
- Shovel ready projects that can get units on the ground quickly once funding is allocated (within 3 years)
- Projects accessible to frequent public transit, particularly along the Bus-Rapid-Transit corridor
- Projects with high leverage from other funding sources, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects
- Projects that incorporate environmentally friendly and sustainable building and site design
Eligible Activities
Eligible activities for funding include:
- Construction of New Affordable Housing
- Land Acquisition and Land Banking
- Rehabilitation and Redevelopment
- Future Development Planning
- Rental, Utility, and Relocation Assistance
- Financial Assistance to Homeowners
Additional details about the AHFP are included in the Local Affordable Housing Program Allocation Strategy(PDF, 151KB). In addition, The Affordable Housing Funding Guide(PDF, 322KB) provides guidance on key terms and requirements of the Town’s affordable housing funding.
Overview
The Town has approved a total of $25 million in bond funding to be used for affordable housing in two different municipal bond referendums. The bonds will allow the Town to borrow general obligation bonds to support capital investments in affordable housing projects.
Eligible Activities
Eligible activities for affordable housing bond funding include:
- Construction of New Affordable Housing
- Land Acquisition
- Rehabilitation and Redevelopment
The bond will follow the same priorities as the Town’s local Affordable Housing Funding Program (AHFP). Additional details and guidance are included in the Local Affordable Housing Program Allocation Strategy(PDF, 151KB) and the Affordable Housing Funding Guide(PDF, 322KB).
2024 Affordable Housing Bond
Chapel Hill voters approved a municipal bond referendum on November 5, 2024 that includes $15 million to support affordable housing projects.
The $15 million will help support implementation of the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan & Investment Strategy that Council adopted in September 2023. The plan charts a path forward for the Town’s affordable housing work over the next five years and will require $50 million to implement.
The Town estimates the 2024 affordable housing bond could support the development and preservation of as many as 450 affordable housing units.
2018 Affordable Housing Bond
The 2024 bond is the second affordable housing bond Town voters have approved. The first bond was approved in 2018 for $10 million.
The 2018 bond was allocated to the following 8 projects that will develop 303 units and preserve 40 units of affordable housing. Access additional detail on these projects here(PDF, 67KB).
| Project |
Organization |
Units |
Income Level |
Current Status |
Completion Year |
| Perry Place |
CASA |
24 |
0-60% |
Complete |
2023 |
| Cedar Hills Home Renovation |
Residential Services Inc. |
6 |
0-60% |
Complete |
2025 |
| PEACH Apartments |
EMPOWERment, INC |
10
|
0-30% |
Under Construction |
2025 |
| Trinity Court |
Community Housing Partners |
54 |
0-80% |
Under Construction |
2026 |
| Weavers Grove |
Habitat for Humanity |
102 |
0-80% |
Under Construction |
2028 |
| Carver Street Acquisition |
Habitat for Humanity
|
12 |
0-80% |
Preconstruction |
2027 |
| Longleaf Trace |
Taft-Mills Group / Community Home Trust |
48 |
0-60% |
Preconstruction |
2027 |
| Homestead Gardens |
Homestead Housing Collaborative |
87 |
0-115% |
Preconstruction |
2028 |
|
|
343 |
|
|
|
Additional information on approval of the bond funding plans and the 2018 bond referendum:
Fall 2025 Funding Plan Approval
Spring 2024 Funding Plan Approval
Fall 2022 Funding Plan Approval
Spring 2020 Funding Plan Approval
Link to 2018 Bond Voter Approval
The Affordable Funding Housing Tracker reports on our affordable housing funding since 2020, when we began allocating our first affordable housing bond.
The tracker is an interactive ArcGIS-based dashboard and StoryMap that share the details of individuals projects. It also shares high level trends in our local funding. The goal of the tracker is to help community members, partners, and elected leadership understand and track how we spend our affordable housing funding.
The tracker focuses on local funding that has been allocated to projects. It doesn't include federal funding or funding allocated to support general operating or administrative support for affordable housing efforts.