The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is celebrating the newest additions in their affordable housing efforts.  

On Thursday, May 30, the community came together for a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for Dreamcatcher Arrow Point, a recently completed rental community and the newest section added to the Arrowpoint Lumbee Tribal Community. 

During the ceremony, the first six families received the keys to their new rental properties adding in the mix of homeowners and renters in the community. 

“Affordable housing is an important thing for people's quality of life because we all know, if you've got somewhere to stay, it improves your ability to be an economic driver. You can go to sleep with peace of mind. You’ve got a roof over your head and running water, that's important. Housing is fundamental,” said Rudy Locklear, District 20 Tribal Representative.

The new homes include three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room and carport. The Tribe worked with Tise-Kiester Architects, PA, to design the homes, and partnered with local contractors and construction agencies to transform the space from a field to an extension of the Arrow Point neighborhood, bringing the total number of homes within the subdivision to 112. 

Tribal leadership also shared that the work for affordable housing is still in progress with additional plans for increased homeownership and senior homes on the books. 

“I can tell you this now, that the council has approved additional housing opportunities and we're moving forward with additional housing subdivisions throughout the territory,” said Lumbee Tribal Chairman John L. Lowery. “As my administration is preparing our budget for the upcoming year, we're going to have more money in there to do infrastructure and other things with our other subdivisions that we're planning so we do have many more of these coming.”

The DreamCatcher communities included homes built on three different sites throughout the Lumbee Tribal Territory and are made of both homeowners and renters.  These communities were built with funding from the Golden Leaf Foundation, a HUD Title VI Loan and NAHASDA Funds.