Durham voters approved a $95 million affordable housing bond in 2019, and now the City is showing its work.
Most of the goals were hit or surpassed, especially with rental units.
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With a $95 million housing bond, federal funding, and the involvement of other partners, Forever Home Durham largely met and exceeded expectations.
One goal, to create and preserve 2,400 affordable units, was surpassed. That goal was mainly achieved through the bond funding.
It’s an achievement City Council member Carl Rist says he’s excited about.
“About half our renters are cost-burdened, so creating or preserving that many rental units was a big part of the bond, and I'm so glad we achieved that one,” Rist said.
More than 2,000 unhoused people have moved into permanent housing, surpassing the original goal of 1,700, which was largely funded by the Dedicated Housing Fund and federal money.
The City also stabilized more than 4,700 low-income households, far above the goal of 3,000 households.
Efforts around eviction diversion were a large part of reaching that goal, and the Dedicated Housing Fund money also made a difference.
Legal Aid of NC’s Eviction Diversion Program, Habitat for Humanity’s Minor Repair Program, and the City’s Neighborhood Improvement Services’ Neighborhood Preservation Program were all partners to reach that goal, along with additional community partners.
One goal where Forever Home Durham fell short was around home ownership.
That goal was to provide 400 homeownership opportunities to low-income households. So far, the city has only succeeded with 125.
"As housing prices have increased, we had a sort of, we had to adjust the way we provided down payment assistance,” Rist explained. "We've got a system and a sort of program that's been a little bit difficult for lenders to use, and so we need to get better to make sure we can provide those subsidies for first-time homebuyers, so they can get in a first-time home.”
The city also has not yet met its fifth goal of creating at least $130 million in contracting opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs); so far, they have provided $62 million in opportunities.
In addition to the bond money to support Forever Home Durham, federal money, community partners, and other local dollars brought the total to $171 million to support the five-year affordable housing program.
City Council members were appreciative of the success, with eyes toward the future.
“This is a lot of progress. we are doing a great job in many areas in many respects,” Mayor Leonardo Williams said during the meeting. "We want to make sure we're housing people, we want to make sure folks are following the process, but we also realize this housing market is volatile."
Williams and other City Council members shared ideas to improve the City’s Down Payment Assistance Program in the future.
Rist also pointed to the successful partnership between the Durham Housing Authority and the City, including the new developments and renovations to existing DHA properties.
“Those public housing residents are our residents, and the importance of redeveloping aging public housing communities is critical,” Rist said. “We have an investment. We have a stake in that, and so putting our money where our mouth is and investing some of those housing bond dollars in our public housing was a critical way to show that the folks who are the most housing challenged in Durham are folks we also care about and want to make sure have safe, decent, affordable housing.”
While the bond money has been spent, the work is not finished.
“Given the importance of housing and the challenge of in a growing market, of making sure we have affordable housing opportunities for all people, or all residents, we may need to go back to the voters at some point the next couple years with another Affordable Housing Bond,” Rist said. “I think that's one thing that we're starting to discuss in with among the council members.”
You can watch the full discussion here, or check out the City’s presentation on the bond money here.
