The Community Development Department believes all residents deserve access to decent and suitable affordable housing that meets their needs. We invest in various projects that create and preserve affordable rental housing for low- to moderate-income households within the City of Durham.

Through this initiative, we have been managing the following rental housing projects:

1) Forever Home, Durham Projects

• The $160 million Forever Home, Durham plan spans from 2019-2025. The goals within the plan that are relevant to this initiative include creating 1,600 new rental units and preserving 800 rental units.
  • Within the goal of creating 1,600 new rental units, we have: completed 2 projects, have 5 projects under contract, and have 8 projects in the pipeline.
  • Within the goal of preserving 800 rental units, we have: completed 2 projects, have 2 projects under contract, and have 1 project in the pipeline.
• We are diligently working to get the projects that are currently in the pipeline to an under contract status. Due to volatile market conditions, paired with increased construction and development costs, we have experienced unexpected delays in moving these rental housing projects into an under contract status.
• For the latest information about the Forever Home, Durham plan, please visit the Community Development Department's website.

2) American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Affordable Housing Projects

• The City of Durham and Durham County are using a portion of their American Rescue Plan allocation to fund the critical need for affordable housing. Through an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement, Durham County conveyed $10 million to the City of Durham, which the City matched, for a total investment of $20 million to assist in developing new affordable housing units in Durham. The funds will serve households earning less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 
• The City of Durham hosted a competitive application process and made selections of the affordable housing projects they anticipate funding.
• For more information about the City of Durham's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, please visit the Budget & Management Services website.

3) HOME Investment Partnerships Program - American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP)

• The City of Durham was awarded approximately $4.3 million in HOME-ARP funding. A requirement of the funding was to develop an Allocation Plan that describes how we will distribute funding, including how the funds will address the needs of qualifying populations. The City of Durham's HOME-ARP Allocation Plan was approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Spring 2023. Our Allocation Plan states that we will allocate approximately $4.2 million towards the development of 25 new affordable rental units and $150,000 towards administrative and planning activities. The new rental units will be prioritized for individuals and/or families experiencing homelessness.