Low-income apartment project finances explained

Tax credit awards are administered annually on the state level by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) and are the main source of funding for developing affordable housing both in the U.S and in North Carolina.

As such, they are extremely competitive. In the 2022 cycle, NCHFA awarded tax credit funding to only 28 developments in 23 counties, totaling 1,716 affordable apartments.

The award to Balsam Edge could not come at a better time as currently more than 1,400 renter households in Haywood County are paying over half of their income for rent alone.

Local leaders in both Haywood County and the town of Waynesville are acutely aware of the need for affordable housing, and have shown strong support for the development.

“On behalf of the town, I wish to extend our congratulations on the award of NCHFA Housing Credits for Balsam Edge,” said Waynesville Mayor Gary Caldwell. “The town board is committed to increasing the availability of affordable housing in Waynesville and has partnered with Mountain Housing to make this project a reality by providing an incentive package. We look forward to working with them as they move forward in their development process.”

In addition to support from the Waynesville, Balsam Edge was recently awarded $300,000 in federal HOME funding by the Southwestern Commission. MHO’s purchase of the Balsam Edge site was also aided by a generous grant from Dogwood Health Trust.

On top of the strong showing of local support, MHO chose the Balsam Edge site for development in part because of its strong and equitable location.

“We are especially excited about the location,” says MHO Executive Director Scott Dedman. “It’s a 10-minute walk to the Waynesville Rec Center, less than a mile to downtown, and so near to shopping and services. This location will be a great pleasure for our residents to live in. This site is one of the best locations we have found for providing affordable apartments in a good neighborhood with a high quality of life.”

Though frequently successful with tax credit developments in Buncombe County, Balsam Edge marks a significant expansion of MHO’s service area into the broader Western North Carolina region.

Construction on Balsam Edge is expected to begin in fall of 2023 and will be completed in spring of 2025.

MHO is a private, nonprofit, community development corporation. Founded by volunteers in 1988, the organization’s first task was to repair the roof of an elderly widow living in Leicester. That repair was the beginning of MHO’s Emergency Home Repair program, which now repairs the homes of more than 100 low-income homeowners each year. Today MHO is the largest and fastest-growing producer of attractive, affordable homes and safety- related home repairs in Western North Carolina.