2025 was a busy year for our affordable housing efforts in North Carolina. From the mountains to the Triangle, Self-Help is working to ensure that housing remains affordable, even as demand for housing continues to grow across the state.

In Western North Carolina, we celebrated the August groundbreaking of Fairhaven Meadows, a new 42-unit affordable rental community in Brevard. This project was developed by Commonwealth Development Corporation and financed in part through Self-Help’s Western North Carolina Affordable Housing Loan Fund.

In Chapel Hill, Self-Help served as site developer for Homestead Gardens, a mixed community on a several-acre parcel that will include rental apartments and single-family homes. The property will also include space for local partners, like Community Home Trust; CASA; Habitat for Humanity; and Horizons, an organization affiliated with UNC Health that serves women overcoming addiction. The site is near a senior center, public transit and shopping, and funding includes federal, town and county dollars.

In Durham, our real estate team completed its work on Hardee Street Apartments, an affordable rental community serving residents earning at or below 60% of area median income, including those at risk of homelessness. The project included multiple community partners and was years in the making, with financing through a combination of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, city funds and philanthropic grants. A ribbon cutting ceremony in November marked the milestone.

In Rocky Mount, Self-Help’s multi-year effort to build and renovate affordable housing continued in 2025, with new single-family homes coming online for first-time buyers. The work reflects Self-Help’s full-circle approach to affordable housing: new construction, renovation, rental and ownership, all in one community.