A new multi-million-dollar loan program for developers aims to increase the number of affordable housing units in Greensboro. The recently launched Greensboro Housing Loan Fund is a public-private partnership that’s been years in the making.
In 2016, a comprehensive study showed that more than 40,000 of the city’s housing units were cost-burdened or unaffordable — families paying more than a third of their income on housing. Four years later, recommendations for a loan fund made their way into the city’s 10-year housing plan: Housing GSO.
Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro President Walker Sanders says the fund targets local developers, incentivizing them to build more workforce units for people who make below the per capita income — teachers, firefighters, police officers — and are unable to afford market-rate units.
"The way communities are addressing those needs is to build into market rate developments affordable rents," says Sanders. "An example would be a developer wants to build a project with 400 units. They can access this fund with say, they build 300 units at market rate, and 100 of them below market rate. So, it would really be a mixed income housing complex."
Sanders says the money comes from several sources — the city of Greensboro, Community Foundation, financial institutions, and others — with roughly $21 million launched last month, and a goal to raise an additional $11.5 million. Sanders says there’s a need for some 20,000 new affordable units and that number is likely to grow.
"Greensboro is on the cusp of a huge economic boom," he says. "With the announcement of a $14 billion investment just down the road at the Toyota mega site, Boom Supersonic. There will be a number of people coming into the community that we need to make sure we have the right type of housing for. And we need to make sure that the housing is affordable, that it’s high quality. So, we believe this is the first of the conversations."
He says he hopes that once this fund gets fully deployed, plans for launching Greensboro Housing Fund Two and Three will be well underway with an eye on exploring ways to bolster home ownership as well.