The Foothills NC HOME Consortium is a group of governments coming together to receive Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds from HUD. Participating jurisdictions include McDowell County, which is serving as the lead entity, Cleveland County, Polk County, Rutherford County, City of Kings Mountain, City of Shelby, City of Marion, Town of Old Fort, City of Saluda, Town of Forest City, Town of Rutherfordton, and Town of Spindale.
The proposed FY2022-2023 HUD HOME funding totals $815,652 with $734,087 for New Construction of Both Rental and Homeownership Housing and $81,565 for Administration. These funds are expected to benefit persons of low and moderate income for the program year that runs July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
Access to this funding required McDowell County to submit a Consolidated Housing Plan and associated action plan to HUD in late Summer 2022. Both documents were crafted with assistance from Foothills Regional Commission and input from citizens, stakeholders and local officials.
The most recent version of the plan can be found here: Foothills HUD HOME Consolidated Housing Plan
What is a HOME Consortium?
Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is a federal grant program through Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that provides grant funds on a reimbursable basis to support decent, affordable housing for low-income households, expand the capacity of non-profit housing providers, strengthen the ability of state and local governments to provide housing, and leverage private-sector participation.
By forming a regional HOME Consortium, FRC member governments can obtain funding from HUD to apply towards affordable housing options in Cleveland, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford Counties.
Possible HOME Consortium Funding Uses
- New Construction
- Rehabilitation
- Down Payment Assistance
- Rental Assistance
- Site Improvements
- Acquisition of Property
- Relocation Costs
- And More….
Foothills NC HUD HOME Consortium Information and Documents
The Foothills NC HOME Consortium will address the affordable housing shortage across its four-county region in Western North Carolina.
- Informational Documents:
Foothills Housing Task Force Regional Plan
The development of the HUD HOME Consortium is a direct result of the goals and objectives laid out by the Task Force Report.
The Foothills Housing Task Force was made up of nonprofit, government, and community leaders around the Foothills region whose goal was to study the issue of affordable housing in the four-county region, consult with housing industry experts, and explore ways the region’s municipalities and government sectors can protect existing opportunities for quality, stable, and affordable housing for residents and extend those opportunities.
See the Task Force’s regional plan here.
FRC also held a Regional Housing Summit in November 2019 at the Rutherford Clubhouse with more than 65 participants from Polk, Cleveland, McDowell and Rutherford Counties. The goal of the gathering was to hear a market study on housing, housing availability and housing affordability in this region and how to develop a Regional Housing Strategy. A full report of the Housing Summit results is available here.
