The Town of Chapel Hill is excited to launch a $20 million Affordable Housing Loan Fund, in partnership with UNC Health and Self-Help Ventures Fund. The fund is expected to support the preservation or creation of at least 600 affordable housing units over the next 20 years.
In 2023, the Town and UNC Health committed a total of $5.7 million in seed funding. Self-Help Ventures Fund leveraged the investments to attract additional capital from banking partners to create the $20 million fund. The new fund will provide below-market loans to support the acquisition, preservation, and creation of affordable housing in Chapel Hill.
“The Town is thrilled to launch this new tool to support the creation and preservation of affordable housing in Chapel Hill,” said Sarah Vinas, Director of the Town’s Affordable Housing & Community Connections Department. “We appreciate UNC Health and Self Help’s partnership on the Loan Fund. This is a great example of what we can accomplish together when we work across industries to address one of the community’s greatest challenges.”
“UNC Health is proud to partner with the Town of Chapel Hill on this important initiative. Affordable housing is an issue impacting the entire community,” explained Janet Hadar, President of UNC Hospitals. “As individual entities we can’t solve this crisis alone, but by working together, we can make a more meaningful change and positively impact residents and the community. We look forward to seeing what the loan fund will accomplish.”
The creation of the Affordable Housing Loan Fund aligns with the Town’s Affordable Housing Plan, which was approved by the Town Council in 2023 and advances the Town’s affordable housing goals.
The Town selected Self-Help Ventures Fund as the administrator of the Affordable Housing Loan Fund. Self-Help is a leading national Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with extensive lending and underwriting experience, as well as affordable housing development experience across the Triangle and state of North Carolina.
"Building stronger communities in the Triangle through partnerships that support affordable housing aligns perfectly with our commitment to work for economic opportunity for all," shared JJ Froehlich, Housing Sector Leader with Self-Help's Commercial Lending team. “Creating and preserving affordable housing is a vital part of our mission.”
Two types of loans are available through the fund. Loans for preservation or creation of affordable housing may range from a minimum size of $500,000 up to $7 million and can either serve as 5-year bridge financing or 15-year permanent subordinate financing. As Fund Administrator, Self-Help will oversee the review, evaluation, and underwriting of loan applications and the monitoring of all loans issued. Developers interested in applying for loans should contact the Self-Help Ventures Fund lending team at multifamilyloans@self-help.org.
