New single-family affordable housing coming to Blount County

BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. ( WATE ) — New single-family housing options are coming to Blount County .

The Foothills Community Development Corporation (FCDC) was one of two Community Housing Development Organizations in the state to receive a HOME grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA).

The $813,200 grant will fund the construction of four new single-family homes. Bobby Eason, Executive Director of FCDC, said Blount County has seen a lot of growth in recent years.

“We have a bunch of jobs that we’ve brought into the area, which is a tremendous thing, but with jobs come housing needs. We have to house these folks. So with these economic booms we’ve experienced, come a little bit of growing pains,” he said.

THDA East Tennessee Liaison Katie Moore said once the initial four homes are built, the proceeds from the sale of them will continue to fund construction.

“It’s going to build four homes and then once those homeowners move in and get their mortgages, it’s going to build four more homes. So the money just continues to cycle to build more and more homes to benefit Blount County,” Moore explained.

TCDC will sell the homes to families or individuals that qualify.

“There are income qualifications based on max income and that changes year-to-year. Right now, it’s about $72,000 for a household of four. So a mom, dad, two kids. Around $72,000 is the max income requirement,” Eason said.

The grant will also allow FCDC to provide down payment assistance to new homeowners.

“The houses that we build are more expensive than we want them to be just due to the building costs and what it takes to build a house. It just is expensive to do. So having down payment assistance enables us to sell it for less than sometimes what it cost us to build the home,” Eason said.

Two of the new homes will be built on Heritage Crossing Drive, near existing FCDC homes. The other two will be built on Martha Neoma street.

FCDC also has partners to assist homebuyers with credit challenges, so they are able to meet mortgage requirements.

The initial four homes are expected to be completed in about nine months.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.