WASHINGTON - Today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a $34.9 million HOPE VI grant to the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) that will be used to replace aging public housing units with 1,562 new housing units.

The grant for Arthur Capper and Carrollsburg will replace 780 public housing units with 707 public housing units. It will also be used to develop 525 affordable rental units and 330 market rate homes. The redeveloped site, situated adjacent to the Navy Yard and the Southeast Federal Center, will include 600,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 to 40,000 square feet of retail space. The office space is expected to create more than 200 new entry-level and 80 new mid-level jobs.

"Across the country, and in the District of Columbia, we have seen HOPE VI developments transform old public housing units into thriving, mixed-income communities," said HUD Secretary Mel Martinez at a press conference today with Mayor Anthony Williams. "Once these developments are complete, you will see some beautiful housing units befitting this city. More importantly however, you will see lives being transformed through a variety of HOPE VI service programs. This is an opportunity for D.C.'s public housing residents to become true community stakeholders."

The DCHA was selected from a pool of 66 applications the agency received for the 2001 funding. The DCHA has received HOPE VI awards in the past, including $25 million for Ellen Wilson Homes in 1993; $20.3 million for Valley Green and Skytower in 1997; $29.9 million for Frederick Douglass Homes and Stanton Dwellings in 1999; and $30.8 million for East Capitol Dwellings and Capitol View Plaza last year.

"This is a proud day for the District - I thank Secretary Martinez and HUD for their continuing commitment to rebuilding our city," commented Mayor Williams. "Today's announcement allows us to preserve and redevelop more than 700 units of public housing, and create mixed-income and mixed-use environment that better serves the individuals and families who live there. Combined with our four previous HOPE VI grants, we've leveraged more than $740 million to provide quality and affordable housing for residents across our city."

Today's grants will ultimately attract $299 million in total investment to the District of Columbia, a return equal to about $8.57 for every dollar invested this year in the program. In 1993, the first year of the HOPE VI program, the return was only 31 cents for each dollar invested.

HUD will award more than $491 million this year nationally in HOPE VI grants. The funds will be used to build or rehab more than 12,000 housing units and replace 8,000 older public housing units. Cities were competitively selected based upon the effectiveness of their public housing revitalization plans. HUD policy provides local housing authorities with the flexibility to develop revitalization plans that meet their own special needs.

The HOPE VI program was created as a result of a report by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which found nearly 100,000 public housing units in the U.S. in need of revitalization. The HOPE VI grants, first awarded by HUD in 1993, have five objectives:

• Improve public housing by replacing severely distressed public housing projects, such as high-rises and barracks-style apartments, with townhouses or garden-style apartments that blend aesthetically into the surrounding community.
• Reduce concentrations of poverty by encouraging a mix of incomes among public housing residents and by encouraging working families to move into housing that is part of revitalized communities.
• Provide support services, such as education and training programs, child care services, transportation and counseling to help public housing residents get and keep jobs.
• Establish and enforce high standards of personal and community responsibility through explicit lease requirements.
• Forge partnerships that involve public housing residents, state and local government officials, the private sector, non-profit groups and the community-at-large in planning and implementing new communities.

As part of today's award, HUD will pay relocation costs for residents being temporarily relocated or displaced by the revitalization effort. Relocated residents who meet program requirements will be given the first opportunity to move back to the newly constructed units at the site. Residents who choose not to return to public housing will be given vouchers to subsidize their rents in privately owned apartments. In addition, relocated residents receiving vouchers will be provided the same job training and services offered to people living in replacement public housing.

Since 1993, not including this year's grants, HUD has awarded 149 HOPE VI grants to 90 cities. The program's $4 billion in awards has leveraged more than $7 billion in public and private funds.

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