[Written by Jaxson Wartgow] As the City of Charlotte grapples with a housing deficit of over 36,000 units (source: Affordable Housing Gap Dashboard), Habitat Charlotte Region has an opportunity to support local community efforts through the 2024 Housing Bond Measure. The Charlotte City Council approved moving forward with the 2024 Bond Measures on June 24th, and the three measures are slated for the General Election ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 5th. This article will provide an overview of the measures and dive deeper into the much-needed Housing bonds that will allow Habitat to help more families.
This year’s total bond package will focus on Neighborhoods ($61,700,000), Transportation ($238,300,000), and Affordable Housing ($100,000,000). During the past several bond cycles (occurring every two years), Habitat Charlotte Region has been involved with educating the public on the importance of the Housing bonds.
General Obligation Bonds, or GO Bonds, serve as the City of Charlotte’s main source of funding for a multitude of city projects. By funding and undergoing these projects, the City is able to continually improve infrastructure and quality of life for its citizens. Charlotte’s last GO Bond Measure in 2022 was worth $226,000,000, and all three measures passed: the Housing Bond Measure passed with nearly 74% voter approval, and the Transportation and Neighborhoods Bond Measures passed each with just over 77% voter approval.
Specifically, if the Housing Bond Measure passes, the City will have access to bonds to fund $100 million towards the Housing Trust Fund. This is a significant and much needed increase from the 2022 Bond Measure, in which $50 million was dedicated to housing.
The Housing Trust Fund is the City’s primary vehicle to address the affordable housing crisis. The Fund supports the development of affordable housing units by offering grants to developers. This allows the City to work towards making affordable and quality housing available to the citizens of Charlotte who need it.
Once the Housing Trust Fund receives the funding from the Bond Measure, it will create grant opportunities to fund these types of developments. These grants focus on preserving and increasing affordable housing, fostering neighborhood-driven revitalization and improvement, and creating attractive and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods. If the bond passes, these grants will become available to affordable housing developers in 2025.
While it is not a complete solution to the affordable housing crisis, the 2024 Housing Bond Measure is a big step in the right direction. Habitat Charlotte Region is one of the leading affordable homeownership producers in the region, and this Housing Bond Measure would provide much needed funding to continue working towards our vision: “A world where everyone has a decent place to live.”
Habitat Charlotte Region urges you to research all the bonds, including Housing. And specifically, passing the Housing measure will allow organizations involved with expanding affordable housing and homeownership opportunities to receive much needed resources ultimately benefitting hardworking citizens of Charlotte in need of an affordable and safe place to live.
The General Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5th and your vote matters, so please make your voice heard at the ballot box! Vote in support of the Housing Bonds!
Research sources:
Affordable Housing Gap Dashboard
More on GO Bonds and their history
More on affordable housing in Charlotte
More on Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund
Statement of Disclosure filed with the City Clerk
