Lenoir plans to turn vacant city land into affordable homes

The City of Lenoir is getting creative to expand affordable housing, deciding to work with Caldwell County Habitat for Humanity to build 15 homes countywide, with 12 across Lenoir and three in Hudson.

According to Kyle Case, community & economic development manager of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG), the plan is for Habitat to apply for funds through RenewNC, a North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Community Revitalization program funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery — focusing on communities affected by Hurricane Helene.

“(Lenoir) has a number of properties that are city-owned that the city would love to see go back into use, with housing being a big issue in our region,” Case explained in a phone interview. “They want to see new homes being built. It doesn’t do them any good to have vacant properties.”

Applications are due in December, and Case said that, should the application be approved when award announcements are made in early spring, construction could possibly begin in late summer or early fall 2027.

If approved, Habitat will construct five modular-style homes in West End Park — expected to resemble the Duke Street Cottages in Granite Falls — breaking from their traditional method of building the homes alongside the future owner. The homes will be pre-fabricated offsite and assembled once the pieces arrive.

After construction, Habitat will sell the properties to clients who fit the nonprofit’s standard requirements.

WPCOG will help secure and administer the funds, managing the financial process along the way for Habitat. A portion of the grant will pay for WPCOG’s services.

Grants in the workforce housing category can go up to $5 million, and although WPCOG and Habitat are still finalizing the projected costs, Case said he expects to ask for around $3.5 million, with about $200,000 going toward the development of each home, plus infrastructure and grant administration costs.

The countywide project includes five modular-style homes in West End on land owned by the City of Lenoir, seven traditionally built on Harper Avenue on land owned by Habitat, and three others in Hudson on land already owned by Habitat.

Habitat will be applying for funds to support the development of all 15 properties, according to Case.

Lenoir Planning Director Hannah Williams said the land at West End never really developed as a park, but it has historical significance and a track record of stagnant development.

“It’s had some issues (and) does not see a lot of new investment,” Williams said. “We think it’s a perfect place to put some low- to mod-(income) workforce housing.”

According to Case, Habitat will then be able to use the proceeds to construct more homes across the county.

“That’s a win,” said councilmember Jonathan Beal at Lenoir’s Committee of the Whole meeting, where Case initially presented the idea.

Williams explained to the council that the homes will also be low- to mod-income, and restrictive covenants would need to be recorded so that they would remain in that income range, satisfying the requirements of the grant. Those regulations would also make it easier for the city to allow Habitat to build on the land.

“That’s the way the city can convey property to Habitat,” Williams said, “because you can’t just give away your land.”

“That’s kind of one of the big benefits of using Habitat as the agent here, is that they already have that clientele built in,” Case added. “They have low- to mod-income folks that they work with regularly, so it avoids some of the more stringent requirements about where you can build and how you’ve got to report on it.”

City Manager Scott Hildebran said it checked off three of the city’s goals in one fell swoop: “You wanted more housing. You want to sell this property and get it out of our hands. And it goes back on the tax books.”