HUD Awards $113.6 Million To Revitalize Public
Housing
HUD recently announced that six public housing authorities will
receive $113.6 million to transform distressed public housing development into
mixed-income communities.
The awards are part of HOPE IV, which since 1993 has aimed to
transform the physical condition of public housing communities while positively
impacting the lives of residents. According to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan,
“this year, HUD
encouraged housing authorities for the first time to incorporate early
childhood education components in their revitalization plans.”
The following housing authorities received the grants:
- Housing Authority of the
City of Charlotte (NC)
- Housing Authority of
Covington (KY)
-
Housing Authority of the
City of Dallas (TX)
- Housing Authority of the
City of Jersey City (NJ)
-
Memphis (TN) Housing
Authority
- Housing Authority of the City of Trenton (NJ)
Choice Neighborhoods Get Going
The Choice Neighborhoods program took a step
closer to reality when HUD posted the Choice Neighborhood FY 2010 Notice of
Funding Availability Pre-Notice to provide guidance on the application process
for Choice Neighborhood funds.
The pre-notice outlines the core goals of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative
that Congress approved with the passage of HUD's FY 2010 budget. The pre-notice
is intended to help public housing authorities, local governments, and
nonprofit organizations prepare for the official Notice of Funding Availability
for Choice Neighborhoods, which will be issued this summer.
Choice Neighborhoods will award up to $65 million to extend neighborhood
transformation efforts and coordinate housing revitalization with education
reform and early childhood education. A key feature of the pilot program is the
requirement that any public housing or other HUD-assisted housing unit
demolished be replaced with another unit.
The program also allows for-profit developers to submit joint applications with
a public entity.
The pre-notice provides an introduction to the program as well
as the framework that HUD will use to award grants. Choice Neighborhoods
proposes a holistic approach to community development, with housing
transformation at the center, expanding targeted units to include both public
and assisted housing.
DOT Announces TIGER II
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced $600 million in TIGER II
grants. Funds for the Transportation Investment Generating
Economic Recovery Discretionary Grant Program will be awarded on a competitive
basis to projects that improving "the quality of living and
working environments of communities through increased transportation choices
and connections.”
The first round of
TIGER grant applicants requested 40 times the $1.5 billion amount of funding
available. TIGER II is a response to “the backlog of worthwhile transportation
projects waiting for funding,” according to LaHood.
New FTA Program
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced $25.7 million in funding for the Alternatives Analysis Program. Priority will be given to applications that promote the six livability principles of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The program aims to foster the study of alternative modes of transporation; awards will rannge from $50,000 to $2 million.
Priority also will be given to applicants that are plan to coordinate the development of transit projects with public housing agencies or public agencies with energy or environmental missions.
Proposals are due July 17.