The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization (DCR) has announced the first round of funding for the newly launched Commercial District Revitalization (CDR) Program, offering $40 million in federal support to restore commercial districts in western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene. The program targets local governments and nonprofit organizations and is funded through a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Governor Josh Stein highlighted that the CDR Program aims to strengthen local economies by supporting business districts, stabilizing jobs, and fostering resilient communities. The program focuses on HUD-identified and state-identified Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas across multiple counties, including Buncombe, Henderson, Jackson, and Watauga, among others.
Applications will be evaluated based on applicant capacity, community need, soundness of development approach, leveraged resources, and projected long-term outcomes. Award amounts range from $500,000 to $10 million per project. Eligible activities include acquisition, demolition, site preparation, and rehabilitation of commercial structures, assistance for small businesses in improving their physical premises, and facade enhancements in commercial areas. Projects must directly relate to Hurricane Helene recovery and comply with HUD and federal requirements.
The application period opens at 12 PM ET on April 6, 2026, and closes at 5 PM ET on August 4, 2026. Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete an online prescreening through the Renew NC Grant Portal to assess project readiness and alignment with federal objectives. Prescreening helps communities and nonprofits refine proposals and ensures financial feasibility before entering the competitive evaluation process.
This first funding round distributes $40 million of the total $111 million CDBG-DR allocation, with additional funding rounds planned. Interested parties can access application materials, program guidance, and instructional videos on the CommerceRecovery.nc.gov website or contact DCR via email at dcr.grants@commerce.nc.gov.
