New Castle County to invest $30M from ARPA in affordable housing

NEW CASTLE – New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, New Castle County Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle, County Community Services Committee Co-chair Penrose Hollins, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester announced a $30 million investment Monday in New Castle County affordable housing programs into unincorporated New Castle County. The funds come from the county’s allocation from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed in March.

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Meyer will seek county council support to increase the supply of affordable rental and ownership opportunities by developing a program modeled after existing county processes used annually to award federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) program for building affordable housing. Information on the specific program guidelines will be publicly announced with several opportunities for stakeholder feedback.

“Too many Delawareans today do not have affordable housing,” Meyer said in a statement. “Today we announced a historic $30 million investment to address this crisis of affordability in New Castle County families. I look forward to working with Council, including the community service co-chairs Penrose Hollins and Lisa Diller to rapidly invest these funds to support those who the housing market has left behind. I want to thank the continued leadership of Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester to ensure our local governments receive the key investments to help us build back better.”

“Affordable housing has been the path, is the path, and will continue to be the path for working class people to reach middle-class,” Hollins said in a statement. “It’s a critical key to neighborhood stabilization and economic equity in New Castle County. Today we’re just affirming and re-affirming our continued commitment to housing affordability and know that it will remain one of the core values of New Castle County government.”

“We hear it all over New Castle County – we need more affordable rental and ownership opportunities here, and the pandemic brought this problem to the forefront,” Carper said in a statement. “When we were crafting the American Rescue Plan, we knew that housing was one area where Delawareans were hit hard. A safe home is one of the most basic rights we have.  I’m so proud that Matt Meyer and the county has made housing a top priority to invest its American Rescue Plan funds.”

“Every Delawarean, regardless of income, should have access to safe, decent, and affordable housing,” Coons, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “That’s why I’m committed to doing everything I can to address the urgent housing needs in our state, including fighting for robust federal funding for programs like HOME, CDBG, Homelessness Assistance Grants, and expanding homeowner and rental opportunities for individuals and families. I’m excited that New Castle County is dedicating American Rescue Plan funding to address these needs as well.”

“Access to affordable housing and rental options is an issue of great concern for Delawareans across our state, especially throughout the past 19 months,” Blunt Rochester said in a statement. “With this additional funding, New Castle County will be able expedite its processes to quickly add more affordable housing and rental options across the unincorporated areas of New Castle County. That’s why I’m proud of New Castle County’s initiative that will use funds from the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan, both of which I voted to pass in the House, to help countless Delawareans bounce back from the hardships placed on them by the COVID-19 pandemic.”