RALEIGH, NC – The Community Affordable Housing Equity Corporation (CAHEC) presented its annual awards at the Partners Conference Awards Luncheon on June 9, 2026, in downtown Raleigh, honoring five recipients for their dedication to affordable housing and community development. The awards highlight achievements in development, resident leadership, community impact, investment, and lifetime service.
The Development of the Year award was presented to Valley River Apartments, a 56-unit affordable housing community in Murphy, North Carolina. Completed in 2025, the development was led by Western North Carolina Housing Partnership (WNCHP) in collaboration with FGM Development, LLC. When the development received its Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) award in 2021, it marked a significant milestone for Cherokee County. It was the county's first LIHTC award in a decade and the first new-construction LIHTC development in 26 years. Valley River represents CAHEC's seventh investment alongside WNCHP and its tenth investment with FGM Development or an affiliated entity, providing critically needed affordable housing in Western North Carolina.
The Resident Spotlight Award went to Piok Chier, a freshman in high school who resides at Partridge Pointe Apartments in Louisville, KY. Through CAHEC's partnership with the local YMCA, Piok has become an integral part of resident programming, helping coordinate events, encouraging participation, and enthusiastically engaging in activities. He volunteers with the Chestnut Street Family YMCA Summer Camp and participates in youth development programs such as Men of Quality, Black Achievers Teen Senate, and The African in America soccer program. He also volunteers with Kentucky Refugee Ministries.
The Outstanding Community Impact award was given to the North Florida School of Special Education (NFSSE) in Jacksonville, FL. In 2019, CAHEC New Markets provided $10.25 million of NMTC allocation to NFSSE to expand and enhance its campus. Serving approximately 248 students and more than 100 post-graduates, NFSSE empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental differences through educational, vocational, and life-skills programming. The school has achieved a job placement rate of 56.2% among participants in its vocational training programs. NFSSE also developed a therapeutic equestrian center and social enterprises like Berry Good Farms, and employs a reverse inclusion model that brings together individuals with and without disabilities.
First Bank, headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina, received the Investor of the Year award. Over the past 15 years, the bank has invested more than $34 million across nine CAHEC-sponsored funds. First Bank has grown from approximately $1 billion in assets to more than $12 billion and now operates over 100 branch locations throughout the Carolinas. The bank has also served as a construction lender on several CAHEC-syndicated developments, helping expand access to affordable housing.
Steve Rosenblatt was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his career dedicated to affordable housing education and compliance. Beginning in the mid-1970s, he managed a Rural Development housing portfolio and later founded Spectrum Seminars in 1986, establishing the Rural Development STAR designation. He developed the C3P Section 42 training program and founded Spectrum Compliance in 1991, which now employs nearly 40 professionals. Rosenblatt has trained tens of thousands of housing professionals and contributed to numerous North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and CAHEC-sponsored events.
CAHEC is a community investment organization based in Raleigh, NC, and Columbia, SC, that offers housing and life-changing opportunities throughout its Southeast and Mid-Atlantic footprint. For more information, visit CAHEC's website.
