Wilmington secures funding for low-income housing development. Here's what to know.

Part of the city of Wilmington's HOME-ARP funds will go toward housing extremely low-income individuals in a new supportive housing development on Carolina Beach Road.

The city was awarded $2.5 million in one-time HOME-ARP funding in 2021 and about $2.1 million of those funds will be used for the project.

Good Shepherd Ministries of Wilmington Inc. and Lakeside Partners of Wilmington, Inc. initiated a supportive housing project at 3939 Carolina Beach Road called SECU The Sparrow.

The project will be a three-story building with 32 one-bedroom units to serve the needs of extremely low-income residents.

These residents will include single men and women that could be seniors, veteran or people with disabilities.

Residents will also have access to intensive case management services to work toward long-term housing stability.

Here are some of the supportive services that Good Shepherd plans to provide at the site.

• Move-in and furnishings assistance
• Substance abuse counseling (individual and group)
• Mental health counseling (Licensed Clinical Social Worker services only)
• Vocational rehabilitation job coaching
• Connection to community resources such as mainstream income supports
• Circles of support, which include socialization and community building
• Weekly food box distribution to tenants with no income

The site is also located near grocery stores, health facilities, parks and other amenities.

How is the project funded?

Along with the city's HOME-ARP funds, another $126,578 of proceeds from the city's sale of Optimist Park will go toward the project.

The project also has over $400,000 in private contributions, over $2 million from the SECU Foundation, and nearly $3 million from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency under the Supportive Housing American Rescue Plan.

With all of the funding, the project will be fully funded.

How long will the project take?

Executive Director Katrina Knight said that they are hoping for a September groundbreaking and that the project is expected to take a year or more to build.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington secures funding for low-income housing development. Here's what to know.