The Department of Housing and Urban Development has slated $50 million in “capacity-building” grants that will give an economic boost to over 250 low-income communities across the country.
Executives are branding the execution of these “critical funds” as an “intelligent government” practice that will help maximize capital efficiency.
And since HUD’s capacity-building grant program requires a minimum three-to-one private/public capital match, the grants will stimulate nearly $150 million in investments nationwide, and over $1 billion in total development costs that will ultimately benefit low- to moderate-income families.
In addition, they are in line with the HUD secretary Shaun Donovan’s “strategic goal of transforming the way the department does business,” HUD said, so the grants are delivered four times faster than HUD’s traditional fund delivery process.
The selected grant winners are receiving the funds “in an unprecedented 33 days after the application deadline compared to 124 days last year.”
HUD’s assistant secretary for community planning and development, Mercedes Marquez, described the grants as funds that act as multipliers that will “at least triple the impact of taxpayer dollars at the local level.”
The local community development and affordable housing program funds granted to Local Initiatives Support Corp., Enterprise Community Partners Inc. and Habitat for Humanity International are expected to produce approximately 8,000 units of affordable housing.
The goal is to increase the overall efficiently and the capacity of local community-based housing and development organizations, which are challenged by a tough fiscal environment.
While not new, HUD said, its “Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Program” is designed to encourage “open competition among larger nonprofit groups” and other entities by offering increasing technical and administrative support for projects that take into consideration housing affordability, help build safe neighborhoods and community services, generate employment and facilitate transportation.
Habitat for Humanity International, Americas, Ga., received $4.9 million, Enterprise Community Partners Columbia, Md., $25.2 million and Local Initiatives Support Corp., New York, $19.2 million.
In partnership with other private community development corporations and community housing development organizations, the three grant recipients are expected to also create 1,000 training opportunities for these developers.
Since its launch in 2008 HUD’s Section 4 capacity-building grants constructed, renovated or preserved nearly 31,000 homes, provided 2,325 training opportunities for community development organizations or community housing development organizations and stimulated $5.4 billion in total development activity.
