VIDEO | "An Important First Step" - Wilmington Announces Affordable Housing Subsidy Recipients

“These projects will support approximately 362 homes for Wilmington residents. If you do the math, that comes to about $23,000 a unit,” Wilmington Mayor John Carney said.

Developers, nonprofits, and city officials gathered on Thursday at West End Neighborhood House as the City of Wilmington announced the recipients of its Affordable Housing Development Subsidy Program, WDEL 101.7FM reported.

Mayor Carney originally proposed $16.8-million for the initiative, but City Council halved the funding to $8.4 million when it approved the final budget in May. The program, which was announced in August, drew applications requesting more than $26-million across 700 proposed units. A committee reviewed those submissions before awarding the funds to a mix of large and small developers and nonprofits.

“This is an important first step, but there is more work to do,” Carney said, mentioning further that he anticipates collaborating with City Council in the next budget cycle to secure the remaining $8.4 million cut from his initial proposal.

City Councilwoman at-large Maria Cabrera told WDEL 101.7FM that the program most directly impacts the individual or family in need of an affordable place to live.

“That is who this is about – providing more affordable housing because we know we’re in a crisis across America when it comes to affordable housing. Wilmington is not exempt to that,” Cabrera said.

Nasr Mohamed, founder of Nas Homes LLC, pointed to the financial hurdles builders face when trying to launch affordable housing projects.

“There is a big gap between how much a working family can afford to pay and what it actually costs to carry a building – debt, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management – there’s just too much,” Mohamed told WDEL 101.7FM. “That gap is just too big to be ignored or to be overlooked.”

The funded projects span rental developments and homeownership initiatives across multiple city locations. The following table details the approved projects, their locations, and housing types:

Developer / Organization	Project Name	Location	Unit Type
Todmorden	Flats VI-A	500 Ferris St.	Rental
Cornerstone West CDC	The Vistas at St. Francis	1600 W. 8th St.	Rental
Ministry of Caring	The Villages of St. Francis & Clare	907 Jefferson St.	Rental
NAS Homes LLC	N. Market Street	2923 N. Market St.	Rental
Pennrose LLC	Imani VI	1301 E. 29th St.	Rental
Truth in Action	RAW Story Drive	414-422 W 29th, 2804-2806 Madison, 407-417 RAW Dr.	Homeownership
Casale Construction	Browntown Townhomes	900 and 1400 block Brown St.	Homeownership
Penthouse Properties	Tatnall Street Apartments	2301 N. Tatnall St.	Rental
Our Youth	Oliver’s Run	836, 840, 842 Spruce St.	Homeownership
Ezion Fair CDC	Ezion Fair Affordable Senior Housing	1641 W. 4th St.	Rental
The Atrium LLC	The Atrium	704, 707 N. King St.	Rental
SubCool Properties LLC	Shearman Street	517, 519 Shearman St.	Homeownership
Matthew Minor	Affordable Apartment Residences Lombard Street	800 N. Lombard St.	Rental
Hope Commission	Hope Village	Unit block of Gordon St., 2200 block of Lamotte St.	Rental
Delaware Affordable Housing Group	DAHG Affordable Housing Developments	1417 N. Market St.	Rental

Cabrera also noted that municipal initiatives are capturing interest from other municipalities to the point where representatives travel to Wilmington seeking secure housing options.