Opening of long-planned CDC home is celebrated

| April 22, 2012

Sen. Kay Hagen was keynote speaker. Behind her is Bob Muller, chairman of the CDC board. (Russ Lay)

A star-studded assemblage of local and state political and civic leaders attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the Outer Banks Community Development Corporation’s new digs in Nags Head.

A culmination of a project over five years in planning, the new facility will not only provide a permanent home for the Outer Banks CDC, but will also provide office space for other local civic organizations — the Monarch Beach Club, Interfaith Community Outreach, Outer Banks Hotline and Mano al Hermano.

In the past, securing permanent office space has been a challenge for local outreach programs as landlords converted buildings, raised rental rates or found better-paying tenants.

The facility will also be home to other organizations. (Russ Lay)

In addition to the sense of permanency and a central location for some of the region’s largest civic groups, the new facility also provides modern amenities, including a shared conference room with video monitors and modern communications equipment.

Transitional housing is also provided in the new building with apartments that can be used by victims of abusive home settings, fires and other disasters and even public employees needing short-term living quarters.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagen, D-N.C. was the keynote speaker and touched upon the need for such facilities throughout the state. Hagen’s office was instrumental in helping the CDC walk through much of the state and federal financial programs which made the new facility a realty.

CDC board chairman Bob Muller does the honors. (Russ Lay)

State Sen. Stan White also provided some remarks, as did former Nags Head mayor and CDC board chairman, Bob Muller. A large number of area commissioners, town managers and civic leaders were also on hand.

The new facility is just south of St. Andrews by the Sea Episcopal Church at 4301 S. Croatan Highway.

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See what people are saying:

  • Stan Clough says:

    I am glad to see the Outer Banks Community Development Corporation finally achieve its home ! Well done !

    • on April 22, 2012 @ 9:46 pm

  • NagsHead2 says:

    Looks like a who’s who of politicians with a “D” behind their name/title.

    • on April 23, 2012 @ 8:40 am

  • nickrite says:

    What the heck is the Outer banks Community Development Corporation? Who are they, what do they do and do we need them?

    • on April 23, 2012 @ 2:43 pm

  • OBCDC says:

    The OBCDC was developed 8 years ago to help working people in the community with their housing related issues. We have worked with more than 500 Dare County residents and helped well over 100 save their mortgages and thus, their homes. We have also helped over 100 seniors with Reverse Mortgages to reduce the cost of living and paying for their residences. Over 50 residents have been helped with home purchases, not to mention the credit repair we have accomplished with some of the folks we have worked with.

    If you have a real interest in finding out more about the agency go to obx-cdc.org or call our office at 480-2507.

    • on April 24, 2012 @ 8:54 am

  • Interested observer says:

    While this group may do some worthwhile work, I would love to see a cost benefit analysis. Looking at the Dare County budget, they’ve received 160,000 in county money over the last 3 years alone. The issue with many non-profits is that they outlive their intended purpose. Then what tends to happen is they spend most of their efforts and time raising funds so the organization can continue. My understanding was that this organization was started to help create affordable housing on the Outer Banks. With the price of real estate these days, isn’t there plenty of affordable housing now?

    • on April 25, 2012 @ 7:12 am

  • beach livin' says:

    so basically they help people buy homes that cant afford them to begin with. sounds like another democratic backed program.

    • on April 25, 2012 @ 7:45 am

  • chaser says:

    Beach livin….kinda like every realtor on the beach “selling the dream” you will make money on your vacation home, it will pay for itself, while the banks gave away no money down loans.

    • on April 26, 2012 @ 2:28 pm

  • Russ Lay says:

    beach livin’–I have had a lot of experience with the CDC from my years as a banker. If the bankers and lenders, myself included in retrospect, had been as careful as the CDC in qualifying loans, the mortgage crisis would have been avoided. The CDC is very conservative in their guidance on helping people find housing, whether they are paying rent or contemplating a purchase. They are not dealers in “sub-prime” or other strange products. Their advantage comes with their ability to find loan programs designed for this market, but their qualification standards are far more conservative than what passed for lending in the era leading up to the 2007 crash.

    • on April 26, 2012 @ 7:11 pm

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