Raleigh approves five affordable housing developments, 491 apartments planned
Raleigh backed 491 new apartments, but the city’s affordability test still runs up to 80% of area median income. The five projects are spread across the city.
Raleigh’s latest housing approval promises 491 apartments, but the city’s own affordability yardstick still reaches households earning up to 80% of area median income, about $104,200 for a family of four. That is affordable by city policy, but it still leaves many teachers, service workers and young families trying to match rent with paychecks that do not come close to Raleigh’s market prices.
On April 21, Raleigh City Council approved support for five rental developments: Brook Haven, 60 homes; Eagle Trace, 90; Evoke Living at New Bern, 73; Heritage Park Phase 1A, 112; and The Willow, 156. The city said the projects were chosen from eight applications submitted after funding opened in December 2025, and the package will receive nearly $9.9 million in support through the Rental Development Program. The council agenda listed conditional gap financing commitments totaling $9,893,845.
The apartments are being spread across different parts of Raleigh rather than clustered in one corner of the city. Raleigh said the sites were selected near jobs, public transit, grocery stores and schools, a siting strategy meant to keep residents closer to daily necessities. If the financing stays on schedule, ground could break in the next 12 to 18 months, with construction taking about two more years after that.
The approvals fit into Raleigh’s broader housing strategy, which the city says is responding to an urgent housing affordability and homelessness crisis driven by population growth outrunning development, rising construction costs and growing homelessness. The city’s 2026-2030 Consolidated Plan, adopted by City Council on June 17, 2025, sets three goals: increase affordable housing options, prevent and reduce homelessness, and expand housing stabilization and supportive services.
Raleigh’s Affordable Housing Bond is an $80 million investment aimed at residents earning 30%, 50%, 60% and 80% of area median income. The city says most affordable housing programs are targeted below 80% AMI, and one city example places a family of four at about $39,800 at 30% AMI and about $104,200 at 80% AMI. That range shows the tension in Raleigh’s housing math: the city can call these homes affordable, but for households near the bottom of the wage scale, the rents may still be out of reach.
Raleigh has tracked city-funded affordable housing projects on an interactive map since 2016, and the latest 491-unit package continues that pattern. It also builds on an earlier city approval of $22.8 million for 454 affordable units, another sign that Raleigh is adding supply, even if not fast enough to close the gap already pressuring Wake County renters.
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