By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
The city of Salisbury has missed out on efforts to obtain a multi-million-dollar grant from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
The state recently announced that 20 local governments, nonprofits and other organizations have received NSP grant awards totaling $48.85 million.
City officials thought they had a solid application for the funds, designated to help communities buy and redevelop foreclosed properties, but Salisbury’s was among 26 applications not chosen in North Carolina.
Of the grants awarded, 11 went to local governments and six to non-profits. Three statewide organizations selected will ensure the areas of greatest need in 23 counties receive assistance, the Governor’s Office said.
The program’s purpose is to assist areas hit hardest by the housing crisis, and Rowan County was among 23 counties fitting the “greatest need” criteria, giving Salisbury the right to apply.
The greatest need criteria was based on the number of foreclosure starts and other housing-related statistics from state and national sources.
Rowan, Alamance, Bruns-wick, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cumberland, Dare, Davidson, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Pitt, Randolph, Union, Vance and Wake were the 23 counties.
The state received 46 applications from those areas for its share of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, developed late last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Local government recipients include Raleigh, $2.5 million; Wake County, $2.5 million; Charlotte, $2.5 million; Greensboro, $2.5 million; Winston-Salem, $2.5 million; High Point, $2.5 million; Gastonia, $2 million; Henderson/Vance County, $2 million; Durham, $2 million; Rocky Mount, $2 million; and Lexington, $2 million.
The nonprofit recipients were St. Augustine in Raleigh, $2 million; Charlotte Housing Authority, $2 million; Guilford Habitat for Humanity, $2 million; Forsyth Habitat for Humanity, $2 million; Passage Home (in Wake County), $2 million; Greensboro Housing Authority, $2 million.
Statewide agency/intermediary recipients are Self-Help Credit Union, $2.5 million; N.C. Community Development Initiative, $3.5 million; and N.C. Housing Finance Agency, $4 million.
“Unfortunately we were not funded,” Salisbury Senior Planner Janet Gapen said in a recent e-mail. “It appears that they were looking primarily at need. Our foreclosure situation has not been as bad as most of those who were funded.”
Gapen said there is additional NSP funding with the recent stimulus package.
“Hopefully, we will be eligible to apply,” she added. “The details about this funding are still sketchy at this point. Decisions on how it will be distributed are still being hammered out at the federal level.”
Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. The legislation led to the creation of the NSP under which federal financial assistance is allocated to states and local governments with high concentrations of foreclosed homes.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, added an additional $2 billion for the NSP.
“I am pleased to see that the funds Congress and the president appropriated in response to the housing crisis are reaching local governments and non-profits that are in the best position to help those communities most affected by the recession,” U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., said.
“This is an important part of the ongoing effort of Congress to assist those who have suffered most from the economic downturn while stimulating local economies and trying to preserve the viability of communities.”
Gov. Bev Perdue said in a statement that foreclosures, subprime mortgages and mortgage defaults are hurting homeowners, families and communities.
“These new federal funds will go to communities most severely affected by the housing crisis and will be used effectively,” she said. “I’m encouraging all participating organizations to collaborate in order to leverage these grant funds and make them go even further.”