The State Disaster Recovery New Housing Grant Program will make available $10 million to provide grant funds to eligible developers for create new housing in communities which incurred disaster damage in counties declared for federal Individual Assistance under DR-4779-IA, DR-4784-IA, and DR4796-IA. The grant will provide for up to $50,000 per housing unit.
• Eligible housing activities will include the new construction of stick built housing or manufactured homes affixed to a permanent foundation and taxed as real estate located on grayfield; such as infill or vacant lots, and greenfield sites; along with upper story housing development. The housing units may be listed for sale or for rent. A preference will be given to single-family detached units, duplexes, and townhouse style developments.
• The developer must build at least two single-family homes or at least one multi-family building containing 2 or more units or at least 2 upper-story units.
• Eligible housing costs will include construction costs for materials and labor, site development, engineering and architectural services, and related soft costs specified in the application materials. Eligible costs do not include land acquisition, building permits, building inspection fees, furnishings, appliances, legal services, loan origination financing costs, developer fees, and costs associated with selling or renting dwelling units.
• Project cost caps are $298,021 per single-family unit and $241,643 per multi-family unit.
• Housing units must be for owner or renter-occupied permanent residence and not offered for rent on a daily or weekly basis. No short-term rentals, such as through AirBnb or VRBO, are allowed.
• Eligible applicants will be limited to private and nonprofit developers not debarred from federal contracts. To be considered for funding, applicants must further demonstrate criteria including but not limited to the following:
o Impact of eligible natural disasters on the community the project is located in;
o Preparation of project design and proposed amenities for residents;
o Description of developer’s experience with projects of a similar size, features, and financing sources within the past 5 years and their capacity to complete the project;
o Affordability of units to the community, project building type (with a preference to single-family detached, duplex, and townhouse units), and occupancy type (preference to owner occupancy)
o Readiness to proceed including proper zoning, level of architectural drawings, financial need, and other readiness factors;
o Level of project financing;
o Impact on the community’s recovery from natural disasters, economy, and community development and the market need with letter(s) of support from the city or county government;
o Location outside of the 100-year floodplain except for when a FEMA CLOMR removing the site from the 100-year floodplain is approved prior to application
• Program funds will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis. 50% of the housing funds will be disbursed upon framing completion as certified by inspector and the balance of funding will be disbursed upon Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
• The maximum grant award per project is $1 million.
