Supporting Narrative
3310 Fredrickson Road
Wilmington, NC 28401
910.762.4744
capefearhabitat.org
Serving New Hanover, Pender, and Duplin Counties
New Hanover County
Workforce Housing Services Program Proposal
Describe how your project will address the strategic goal(s) listed above.
Increasing Stock
As seen in the 2023 Housing Needs Assessment Update, the median price of a home in
New Hanover County is $312,103. Of the homes that are on the market, only 12.3% are
under $300,000. These statistics present the urgent need for investment in affordable
housing in our community. For a family at 60% Area Median Income, affording a home
at market rate would require nearly 50% of their income to go towards mortgage
payments. This forces families to make tradeoffs between housing, healthcare, food,
and other essentials. At Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, it is our objective to create
opportunities for affordable homeownership that are accessible to low-to-moderate
income families. In our Haven Place neighborhood development, we will build 35
permanently affordable housing units that will be available starting next year. Haven
Place will be our second largest development since Cottages of Cornerstone, a 40-unit
development built in 2014. In summary, this project will increase stock by providing 35
units for sale at an affordable mortgage and increasing the county property tax base by
an estimated $10.5 million.
Improving Stock
Many of the homes currently on the market at an affordable price may require
significant rehabilitation costs to make the homes sustainable and livable. Cape Fear
Habitat builds high-quality homes while still ensuring affordability. All homes are built to
standards as defined by SystemVision, the nation’s only affordable housing guarantee
program made possible by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA).
SystemVision provides training and technical support that leads to improved health,
safety, durability, comfort, and energy efficiency of affordable homes in North Carolina.
All SystemVision homes are third-party verified and performance-tested for the
following: Air Tightness & Framing, Ventilation & Moisture Management, Insulation &
Windows, HVAC Sizing/Installation & Duct Tightness, and Pressure Balancing. Once
completed, each home receives two guarantees, one for energy use and the other for
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comfort. Our homes are also built to be resilient against hurricanes and other natural
disasters.
Cape Fear Habitat maintains high standards in our building practices and utilizes
durable, high-quality materials, including:
• 2x6 Exterior Framing – allows for higher R-value in walls
• Vinyl Siding – provides a 50+ year lifespan and easy maintenance
• Architectural Shingles – provides 50+ year life span and hurricane resistance
• Laminate/LVP Flooring – provides easy maintenance and ensures better air
quality
Cape Fear Habitat’s experienced construction team regularly submits all site plans to
state and local agencies for permitting approvals. Our land development team reviews
county zoning, flood zoning, and lot size prior to lot acquisition. We do not build homes
in flood zones. Our projects meet all NCHFA environmental review standards. The team
pulls all required North Carolina and New Hanover County permits before new
construction or rehabilitation projects begin.
Cape Fear Habitat is moving to a model of pre-constructing homes inside our indoor
building warehouse. This process allows us to build homes for families more quickly
while reducing cost, waste, and environmental impact. Cape Fear Habitat is a North
Carolina Licensed General Contractor and has earned a New Hanover County
Community Resiliency Model Training Certificate. We work only with licensed, vetted
subcontractors for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and roofing.
In terms of quality and home size, Cape Fear Habitat constructs homes that are a match
to surrounding communities. Homeowners have the opportunity to choose from five
different right-sized house plans along with selecting their siding, shutters, shingles,
flooring, and countertops. Home sizes range from two to five bedrooms and 1,100 –
1,600 sq ft, depending on the family’s needs and lot size. Most houses are
approximately 1,400 sq ft, three bedrooms, two bath units.
Increasing Access
In efforts to increase access to affordable housing through our Homeownership
Program, we recognize that a significant prerequisite for access is awareness. Cape Fear
Habitat has spent the last year increasing outreach efforts by hiring a Community
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Outreach Coordinator and making all programs accessible for Spanish-speaking families.
In the last few months, our Community Outreach Coordinator has established twelve
new partnerships with local government and various community organizations. We have
established an ongoing partnership with the City of Wilmington which provides
information about our Homeownership Program to staff and new hires. The City will
refer families who may not qualify for their programs to Cape Fear Habitat. We also
provide information about our Homeownership Program to traditional lending
institutions which can be shared with families who do not qualify for a traditional
mortgage. We attend meetings at other nonprofit organizations like Communities in
Schools to inform the staff about our programs; this information can then be relayed to
program participants and families. We also distribute informational flyers through New
Hanover County schools for students to share with their families. We attend and table at
various community events, including the Northside Food Cooperative’s bi-weekly
community dinners, which host an average of 100 residents at each dinner. Our
Community Outreach Coordinator has worked to significantly expand resources for
Spanish-speaking families, including translation services for our programs. We have
partnered with the New Hanover County Office of Diversity and Equity, Cape Fear
Latinos, Legal Aid of North Carolina, VIDA Translations, and Self-Help Credit Union to
assist our Spanish-speaking families with the application process and understanding
program requirements. All application materials and educational materials have been
translated into Spanish.
Another key component of increasing access to affordable housing is ensuring the
families in our Homeownership Program are prepared for the responsibilities of
homeownership and personal finance. Home maintenance and hands-on home repair
classes are provided for all future homeowners. Families enrolled in the program
actively assist with the construction of their homes and those of other participating
families. The Homeowner Services Department is working to organize a disaster
preparedness event and estate planning services for existing and future homeowners.
Families in the program participate in financial literacy training and credit counseling
with our Nationally Certified Credit Counselor. Each family creates a budget and actively
works to improve their credit score. Families are required to submit a payment toward
closing costs each month they are enrolled in the program. It is part of their program
plan that once families submit all closing costs, they continue allocating monthly
payments into savings for the future needs and repairs of their homes. This teaches
homeowners to pay bills on time, but more importantly, adjust their budget for the
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extra costs that come with homeownership. Families increase their credit score by 50 to
150 points while paying off an average of $1,800 in debt. This unique process prepares
families to successfully own and maintain their homes, especially since most are first-
time homeowners. We educate and provide support to our homeowners to build
generational wealth and ensure their investment is passed along to their heirs.
Tell us how your proposal supports New Hanover County's commitment to diversity, equity,
and inclusion. https://www.nhcgov.com/236/Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-Policy
Cape Fear Habitat is dedicated to addressing the systems of oppression that result in
inequitable outcomes for people of color and minority populations. The majority of the
families we serve are Black and Hispanic/Latino with low- to moderate-income. Our staff
actively works to remove barriers to participation with outreach to underserved areas of
the community. We have an ongoing commitment to engage communities that have
been historically marginalized and embrace diversity at the client, staff, and board
levels. As an Equal Housing Lender, it is our responsibility to serve families from a
variety of backgrounds. To properly serve such a diverse group of individuals, we must
also be made up of a diverse group of employees, volunteers, and board members. We
create this inclusive environment through a variety of measures, beginning with our
board. We approach board recruitment strategically, actively engaging with individuals
from a variety of ages, occupations, races, and cultural heritage. Recently instituted
term limits also help promote board succession which actively fosters diversity.
We are deeply committed to furthering equity and inclusion by evolving our staff and
leadership to be reflective of the communities we serve. Cape Fear Habitat is an Equal
Opportunity Employer and encourages diversity at all levels. We have adjusted our
recruitment process to use inclusive language in job posts. We have also partnered with
local nonprofit agencies, such as StepUp Wilmington, to recruit staff and to combat
barriers to equitable access to information about our employment opportunities and
application process.
Our vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Cape Fear Habitat for
Humanity does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, class, gender, gender identity,
sexual orientation, intersectionality, country of origin, and ability, as well as cultural,
political, religious, or other affiliations. Our affiliate is inclusive for members of all
communities who actively support our mission of bringing people together to build
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homes, communities, and hope. By sharing power among a diverse range of voices, we
will inherently become a stronger, more impactful, and more resilient organization.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about your proposal?
In addition to the New Hanover County Housing Goals, our mission at Cape Fear Habitat
and our 35-unit affordable housing development, Haven Place, are directly aligned with
the 2023 recommendations from the Workforce Housing Advisory Committee. The
committee’s recommendations to “Reduce Barriers to, and Support the Production and
Preservation of a Diversity of Housing Options,” and “Expand Housing Counseling &
Financial Literacy Programs” would be achieved with the support from New Hanover
County’s Workforce Housing Services Program. Funding for the construction of Haven
Place would provide homeownership opportunities for low to moderate-income
families, as well as allow us to leverage other sources of funding for program
sustainability and expansion. For example, our Homeownership Services department is
collaborating with local advocacy groups and Legal Aid of North Carolina to provide
estate planning services to our homeowners. We plan to continue seeking funding to
expand this necessary service, in addition to our home maintenance classes, disaster
preparedness events, and financial counseling. Furthermore, the committee directly
cites Habitat for Humanity in their recommendation, “Replacement of One-Time
Funding Opportunities.” Our programming and capacity have grown tremendously with
the relief aid from Hurricane Matthew and Florence, as well as COVID-19. However,
continued funding is necessary to maintain our recent momentum. Investing in long-
term, affordable housing now will build economic and social resilience for years to
come.
The Affordable & Workforce Housing Public Opinion Study from the University of North
Carolina Greensboro illustrated just how urgent affordable housing is for our
community. One participant noted “...we’re at sort of desperate times in Wilmington for
this” (p. 66). With the rising market costs, the declining availability of land, and the
continued recovery from Hurricane Florence and COVID-19, a large majority of the
essential and service workers in our workforce cannot afford to buy a home in
Wilmington, even with a full-time job. A 35-unit development like Haven Place will
provide permanent affordable housing that is accessible to families in the workforce.
This long-term affordability builds generational, inheritable wealth as homes continue to
increase in value, but stay affordable for low-to-moderate income families. Another
participant invited the question of where people actually want to live: “I would
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challenge, and say the same places that we all want to live, somewhere where there’s
good schools, there’s adequate space to play outside, where you feel safe, you have
enough room” (p. 74). As the public survey indicated, some families must pay more than
they can afford to ensure they can live in a neighborhood that meets these conditions.
Haven Place will create safe, comfortable housing that does not require families to go
over their budget. An established development provides families with opportunities to
meet their neighbors and build a sense of community that will be passed down through
generations.