Housing access · July 2026
New Stone Commons is permitted for 42 units. Construction and occupancy are the next proof.
The northwest Huntsville project has a City funding agreement and a new-construction permit. Its earlier completion estimate has passed, and no certificate of occupancy appears in the public layer.
New Stone Commons is a planned 42-unit affordable rental community at 3450 Venona Avenue NW. Huntsville's April 2026 announcement describes long-term, income-restricted housing supported by $2.3 million in federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program–American Rescue Plan resources.
The project is further along than a concept or funding-only announcement. The City's public building-permit layer records permit 688187 for 42 units of new multifamily construction at the address. It was issued April 10, 2026 with a reported permit value and actual cost of $9,502,175.
The defensible status is permitted and funded
A building permit establishes that the project cleared the City's permit gate. The April 23 Council action establishes a development and funding agreement. Neither record alone proves that physical work started, that the building topped out, or that units are ready to occupy.
A search of the City's public certificate-of-occupancy layer returned no record for 3450 Venona Avenue or New Stone Commons when reviewed July 22. The reviewed City pages also do not provide a current groundbreaking, construction-progress photograph, leasing date, or revised completion schedule.
The permit data also contains a second same-address record, permit 688185, labeled as a one-unit addition with a $9.4 million value and issued minutes before the 42-unit record. That appears to require clarification. This guide uses the 42-unit new-construction record to establish project stage and does not add the two permit values or call either one a complete project budget.
A funding agreement says resources are committed. A permit says construction is authorized. A certificate says occupancy is authorized.
Documented sequence
The project timeline—and the schedule reset
The public record changed from a 2024 funding strategy to a 2026 permitted project. The original completion expectation did not hold.
| Date | Verified action | What it established | What it did not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2024City project approval | Funding strategy | 42 units; City commitment of $2,300,376; Neighborhood Concepts and New Futures identified; target completion of December 2025. | A final State award, construction permit, physical start, or guaranteed completion date. |
| May 13, 2024AHFA applicant list | Application | New Stone Commons, LLC listed a 42-unit nonprofit new-construction application requesting State HOME-ARP funding. | An applicant list is not, by itself, an award notice or closing record. |
| January 7, 2026City year-end review | Funding approved | The City still described New Stone as a 42-unit Venona Avenue investment. | The page did not say the December 2025 completion target had been met. |
| April 10, 2026Permit 688187 | Permitted | New construction for 42 multifamily units at 3450 Venona Avenue NW; permit value $9,502,175. | A notice to proceed, observed construction start, or occupancy authorization. |
| April 23, 2026City funding agreement | Agreement approved | $2.3 million in City-administered HOME-ARP funding for long-term income-restricted units. | A current completion date, leasing launch, rent schedule, or resident application. |
| July 22, 2026Publication review | No CO found | No matching record appeared in the public certificate-of-occupancy layer. | An empty search does not prove that no site work has occurred. |
The April 2024 page expected completion by December 2025. The April 2026 permit and funding agreement show the project continued, but on a later delivery path.
What the public funding records actually show
In 2024, the City said Neighborhood Concepts planned to use the City's $2,300,376 commitment to apply for $12.8 million in State American Rescue Plan funding through the Alabama Housing Finance Authority. AHFA's applicant list confirms a 42-unit New Stone Commons application by New Stone Commons, LLC and labels the proposal nonprofit, family, new-construction housing.
The $12.8 million figure was a requested funding amount at that stage. It should not be reported as an award without an award or closing record. The 2026 City action confirms the local $2.3 million HOME-ARP agreement; the public permit lists a $9.50 million construction value. Those figures measure different things and should not be added together as though they form a verified total development cost.
HOME-ARP carries ongoing requirements
HOME-ARP was created through the American Rescue Plan and is administered through HUD's HOME program. Eligible uses include affordable rental housing, tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, and non-congregate shelter for qualifying populations.
HUD's governing notice establishes long-term rent, occupancy, property-standard, monitoring, and recordkeeping rules for assisted rental units. It also sets a minimum 15-year compliance period for HOME-ARP rental units. The exact restriction period, number and mix of assisted units, rent limits, referral method, operating-reserve structure, and enforcement terms for New Stone Commons should come from its executed written agreements—not from a general program summary.
Who the housing is intended to serve
The City's 2024 announcement named people who are homeless or formerly homeless and people fleeing domestic violence. It also said supportive services would be available and that the building design would include individual and group meeting rooms for case-management assistance.
The 2026 announcement uses the broader federal language of qualifying populations and low-income households. HUD's HOME-ARP qualifying populations include people experiencing homelessness, people at risk of homelessness, people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, certain other households facing the greatest housing-instability risk, and veterans or veteran families who also meet a qualifying category.
That description is not a resident application. The reviewed sources do not publish an application opening date, tenant-selection plan, referral process, current waiting list, unit mix, rent schedule, property manager, or leasing contact. Those details should be reported only when the project or an authorized partner publishes them.
New Stone is one part of the Venona Avenue housing story
New Stone Commons sits in Census tract 7.01 and City Council District 1 according to the permit record. Huntsville's 2025 Community Development review places it within a group of northwest housing investments rather than treating it as a stand-alone market-rate apartment project.
The same City review describes The Grove at Indian Creek as a separate 48-unit senior community whose construction began in May 2025, with leasing expected in fall 2026. It also names Parkside Cottages as a separate 30-unit duplex community with two- and three-bedroom homes. Their funding, population, permits, schedules, and occupancy should remain on separate status lines.
Together, the projects show several housing types moving through northwest Huntsville: permanent supportive or deeply income-restricted apartments, senior housing, and family-oriented duplexes. Combining them into one opening date or one unit count would hide meaningful differences.
What to watch next
A documented construction start
The permit authorizes work, but the reviewed record does not establish the date physical construction began. A City or developer update, inspection record, notice to proceed, or dated site documentation can advance the project to an under-construction status.
A revised delivery schedule
The December 2025 completion expectation is obsolete. A new schedule should identify construction progress, substantial completion, certificate timing, and a realistic leasing or occupancy window.
The executed affordability terms
The agreement or later tenant materials should establish the assisted-unit mix, qualifying populations, income and rent limits, referral method, supportive-service structure, and compliance period.
Certificates of occupancy and application details
A certificate is the clearest public delivery record. A separate authorized leasing notice is needed before reporting when or how prospective residents can apply.
Primary sources
- City of Huntsville, 2026 New Stone Commons funding agreement, April 23, 2026.
- City of Huntsville, original New Stone Commons project approval, April 11, 2024.
- Alabama Housing Finance Authority, 2024 HOME-ARP applicant list, revised May 13, 2024.
- City of Huntsville, Community Development 2025 review, January 7, 2026.
- City of Huntsville building-permit record 688187, issued April 10, 2026.
- City of Huntsville certificate-of-occupancy query for 3450 Venona Avenue, reviewed July 22, 2026.
- HUD, HOME-ARP eligible populations and activities.
- HUD CPD Notice 21-10, HOME-ARP requirements.
- Alabama Housing Finance Authority, HOME-ARP program.
This report explains public project records. It is not a housing application, eligibility determination, promise of availability, or legal advice. Generated imagery is an editorial illustration and is not a photograph of New Stone Commons.