Durham’s Rolling Hills/Southside Plans Continue Without Recovery Act Funding

DURHAM, N.C. – January 15, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — On Thursday, January 14, 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded nearly $2 billion in funding under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2) to states, local governments and non-profit housing developers.  No funding was awarded to the City of Durham or to any other governmental entity in the state of North Carolina. 

A total of 56 awards were made with the bulk of the funding going to those parts of the country most adversely impacted by the foreclosure crisis.  Awards made in six states – Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio – account for almost 70 percent of the available funding.

Durham’s NSP2 application requested $31,240,000 to be used towards the implementation of the Rolling Hills/Southside Redevelopment project.   In submitting the application, the City recognized the extremely competitive nature of NSP2 funding and that Durham and other North Carolina municipalities did not have the challenges with foreclosed properties that matched those found in markets that were either overbuilt or subject to faltering economies. 

According to City Manager Tom Bonfield, while the City has remained optimistic that HUD reviewers would look favorably on its application, “the steps to move forward with the Rolling Hills/Southside Redevelopment project were not taken based solely on the anticipated receipt of NSP2 funds.  Also, this application was not a part of the funding strategy for the initial phase of the project.  The City is exploring a variety of funding sources in order to implement the project, which will be discussed at upcoming Steering Committee meetings,” he said.  The next regular meeting will be held on February 9.  Final decisions regarding funding will be made by City Council.

According to HUD, information on how Durham’s application scored in the competitive process will be available sometime after all grant agreements are executed in late January.

For more information about the Rolling Hills/Southside Redevelopment project, visit the City’s Web site at www.durhamnc.gov/departments/comdev/rolling_hills_southside.cfm.