Recovery funds to preserve affordable rentals in Wake County North Carolina
In response to the rapidly rising cost of rental housing in the region, Wake County, the City of Raleigh, Truist, Wells-Fargo, First Horizon and Self-Help Ventures Fund have come together to preserve affordable housing across Wake County.
The Wake Affordable Housing Preservation Fund (WAHPF), administered by Self-Help Ventures Fund, provides financing for nonprofit and for-profit developers to acquire, refinance, rehabilitate, and preserve existing affordable multifamily rental housing in Wake County.
The Wake Affordable Housing Preservation Fund (WAHPF), administered by Self-Help Ventures Fund, provides financing for nonprofit and for-profit developers to acquire, refinance, rehabilitate, and preserve existing affordable multifamily rental housing in Wake County.
- Existing affordable housing, whether Legally Binding Affordability Restricted Housing (LBAR) or Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH)
- Must be located in an incorporated municipality within Wake County or in unincorporated Wake County
- Preference for projects in areas of Economic Opportunity in Wake County
- Advantageous bridge or mezzanine financing
- Savings that can be reinvested into affordability preservation
- Loans for acquisition, rehabilitation, refinancing, or preservation
- Access to in-house legal and real estate development expertise
- No prepayment penalty
- Low (1%) origination fee
Grosvenor Gardens, a 62-unit Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) property in Raleigh, NC, serves as an excellent example of WAHPF financing. Starting with a bridge loan to secure the property in 2022, nonprofit affordable housing developer CASA then refinanced with a permanent loan in 2025. Both loans were provided by Self-Help Credit Union, and both utilized WAHPF.
The project also draws on City of Raleigh and Wake County financing and includes 10 units supported through a partnership between Hope NC and Alliance Health to serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities — a sustainable and replicable model for inclusive, community-integrated housing.
If you're working on an affordable housing project in Wake County — whether at acquisition or looking for permanent financing — reach out to learn how WAHPF financing could fit your capital stack.
- Term: Up to 5 years
- Amounts: $250,000 to $7,000,000
- 4.85% and 6.35% rates available
- Term: Up to 15 years
- Amounts: $250,000 to $10,000,000
- 3.59% and 5.09% rates available
Program Partners
Creating more affordable housing in our communities requires creative collaboration among many organizations. WAHPF is a great example of what we can do when we work together. WAHPF is a result of collaboration among the City of Raleigh; Wake County; Self-Help, who is the administrator of the fund; and our bank partners Truist, First Horizon and Wells Fargo.
