HUD Archives: News Releases

HUD ANNOUNCES $492 MILLION TO TRANSFORM PUBLIC HOUSING
Application For 2002 Funding and New Guidelines Available Today

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced the availability of $492.5 million in 2002 HOPE VI Revitalization Grants to help transform public housing and improve neighborhoods throughout America. This year more cities will benefit from the program because HUD has set a maximum of $20 million per grant.

"This year HUD will distribute grants to a wider range of public housing authorities," said HUD Assistant Secretary Michael Liu. "We will also emphasize project readiness for this year's applicants."

Since 1993, 165 grants have been awarded to 98 housing authorities, totaling approximately $4.5 billion. Revitalization grant funds may be used for an array of eligible activities, including: capital costs of major rehabilitation, new construction and other physical improvements; demolition of severely distressed public housing; acquisition of sites for off-site construction; and community and supportive service programs for residents, including those relocated as a result of revitalization efforts.

Today, housing agencies can begin applying for HOPE VI Revitalization grants and they have 120-days to complete their applications.

Improvements for the 2002 Notice of Funds Availability for the HOPE VI Program include: project readiness and grant size. In the submissions:

• Each applicant must have procured a developer by the time the application is submitted.
• Required matching funds must be committed as well.
• Each application must certify that it has completed a HOPE VI Relocation Plan.

The HOPE VI program was created in 1992 as a direct result of the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing report that found nearly 86,000 units of "severely distressed" public housing.

The HOPE VI program has several key objectives:

• Changing the physical shape of public housing by demolishing aging, distressed units and replacing them with apartments that blend aesthetically into the surrounding community.
• Reducing concentrations of poverty by encouraging a greater income mix.
• Establishing support services - such as education and training programs, child care services, transportation services and counseling - to help public housing residents get and keep jobs.

HUD will pay temporary relocation costs for residents whose apartments are being demolished. Relocated residents in good standing will be given the first opportunity to move back to the newly constructed units at the site, or will be given rental assistance vouchers that will subsidize their rents in privately owned apartments if they choose not to return to public housing.

All new units being built will conform to guidelines of HUD's Healthy Homes Initiative, which will ensure that homes incorporate safeguards to protect residents against hazards such as lead poisoning, fire, carbon monoxide and radon.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet.

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Content Archived: April 9, 2010