Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments
Community Development & Housing

The Community Development Department assists units of local governments in developing, applying and administering Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Administrative services includes application preparation and packaging, environmental reviews, program start-up, procurement and contracting, acquisition, labor standards and financial management. Waccamaw Regional has been working with the CDBG program since 1982 and has administered over more than 50 million dollars of CDBG funds for units of local governments in Horry Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties.

The CDBG Program was developed in 1974 and designed to help units of local government address social and environmental problems through neighborhood revitalization, economic development and the improvement of community facilities. CDBG grants are available to local governments for a variety of projects such as downtown revitalization, water, sewer, economic development, affordable housing and housing rehabilitation. Though all of these project types are eligible, due to the high water table and poorly draining soils of the region, water and sewer projects comprise the majority of projects in the Waccamaw Region. Since 1982 more than 25 million dollars of CDBG funding has been granted for water and sewer projects in Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties.

In order to apply for CDBG funds an eligible project must meet one of the three CDBG National Objectives: benefit to low and moderate income persons, aid in prevention or elimination of slum and blight, or meet other community development needs having particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health and welfare of the community where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs. Most CDBG projects qualify based on meeting the low and moderate income criteria.

Non-entitlement local governments apply for CDBG funding through the State of South Carolina Department of Commerce Division. Funding cycles are typically in April and September and the maximum grant award is $500,000. A matching requirement of 10% of the grant amount is required from the unit of local government.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME Program) was created in 1990 and is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HOME Program targets housing activities which result in the expansion of affordable housing, for both rental and home ownership units, for low- to moderate-income persons. The HOME Program allows communities to tailor strategies to their specific needs and priorities. Additionally, funding encourages the development and expansion of partnerships among and between all levels of government, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector. Funding is typically provided in the form of a grant or a low-interest loan and all HOME funding requires a match from non-federal sources.

The Waccamaw HOME Consortium (Consortium) is a regional entity established for the purpose of receiving HOME Program funds which will serve as a dedicated source of ongoing funding for the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Waccamaw Region. It is made up of local jurisdictions in the counties of Georgetown, Horry, and Williamsburg and their local units of government (Atlantic Beach, Briarcliffe Acres, and North Myrtle Beach do not participate). The Consortium is housed within the Community Development Department of the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments which administers the HOME Program on behalf of the lead agency, the City of Myrtle Beach.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CONSORTIUM FUNDING AND THE CONSORTIUM’S NEW FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER PROGRAM Equal Housing Opportunity

In addition the CD Dept. also administers the following region wide grants: 

• Fair Housing Initiatives Grant – Fair Housing education and Outreach
  through HUD $79,445

• South Carolina State Housing Trust Fund - $150,000 for Rehabilitation

• RHED – Capacity Building Grant HUD $150,000

• Click here to download a list of all projects funded in the region since 1982. (Requires Microsoft Excel)

Related Information:

• South Carolina Community Development Block Grant Program 

• South Carolina First Time Home Buyer Program

• SC Government Website