The Wilmington City Council recently approved the reissuance of more than $37 million in housing revenue bonds for Starway Village Apartments, a 278-unit affordable housing development.
Starway Village Phase I, which has approximately 176 housing units in four buildings at 2346 Carolina Beach Road, received approval for the reissuance of $23.5 million in bonds.
The council also authorized the reissuance of $13.6 million in bonds for Starway Village Phase II, with approximately 102 units in three buildings at 503 Conley Drive.
The City Council unanimously approved both measures Sept. 22.
The affordable housing complex opened in 2025.
Talking project costs
Starway Village provides workforce housing for residents who make 60% or less of the median income in New Hanover County.
The development offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
The total cost of Starway Village was estimated at $75 million. The project received $9 million from the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, $4.2 million from the city and over $2 million from New Hanover County.
In 2023, when the project was in the planning stage, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said it was the largest affordable housing development to receive funding from both the city and the county.
The reason for the reissuance
The Wilmington Housing Authority, at the request of Starway Village I, LLC and Starway Village II, LLC proposed reissuing the previously issued bonds to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of the development.
The reissuance requests were made for federal income tax purposes, according to the city.
No city taxes or revenues are pledged to pay for the bonds, the city said.
Federal tax law requires tax-exempt bonds issued to finance affordable housing to be approved by both the issuer and the government with jurisdiction over the area where the facility is to be located, according to the city.
No one spoke at an Aug. 4 Wilmington Housing Authority public hearing on the reissuance of the bonds, according to Tyrone Garrett, the authority’s chief executive officer.
The bonds for both phases were originally approved by the city July 18, 2023.
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at RLiepa@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington approves reissue of millions in housing bonds
