HUD AWARDS $118 MILLION IN RECOVERY ACT GRANTS IN ARIZONA TO STABILIZE NEIGHBORHOODS, REBUILD ECONOMIES
Stabilization grants to help neighborhoods recover from the housing crisis

TUCSON, AZ - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Mercedes Márquez today announced that HUD is awarding nearly $118 million in Recovery Act funding throughout Arizona under HUD's Neighborhood
Stabilization Program (NSP). The NSP grants announced today are part of $2 billion awarded nationwide to local communities and nonprofit housing developers to combat the effects of vacant and abandoned homes while creating jobs.

During a news conference at the site of a formerly foreclosed upon home in South Tucson, Márquez announced the following NSP grants in Arizona: Pima County, $22.2 million; City of Phoenix, $60 million; and Chicanos Por la Causa, Inc., an estimated $35.8 million.

"Vacant homes have a debilitating effect on neighborhoods and often lead to reduced property values, blight, and neighborhood decay," said Márquez. "This Recovery Act funding will help stabilize hard-hit communities in Arizona by turning vacant homes from eyesores into community assets. The Neighborhood Stabilization program is a key part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive approach to address the national housing and economic crisis."

Rep. Raúl Grijalva said, "Neighborhoods and communities have been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, and the Recovery Act funds we are announcing will be critical to neighborhood recovery. A foreclosed home is a tragedy for
a family, and when the home stays vacant, as so many are in today's market, the entire community suffers. Today action is being taken to defend and strengthen the areas of our cities facing these challenges, and I'm happy to see timely support going where it is needed most."

Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, this round of NSP grants is being awarded competitively to applicants who developed the most innovative ideas to address the impact the foreclosure crisis
has had on local communities, while demonstrating that they have the capacity to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program was created to address the foreclosure crisis, create jobs, and grow local economies by providing communities with the resources to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes and convert them to affordable housing. Last year, HUD awarded nearly $4 billion in NSP formula funds to over 300 grantees nationwide to help state and local governments respond to rising foreclosures and falling home values.

The additional $2 billion in NSP grants being awarded today will build on the work being done now to help state and local governments and non-profit developers collaborate to acquire land and property; to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties; and/or to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to middle-income homebuyers. Grantees can also create "land banks" to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of foreclosed homes.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program will also help to prevent future foreclosures by requiring housing counseling
for families receiving homebuyer assistance funds through NSP. In addition, it will protect homebuyers by requiring grantees to ensure that new homebuyers under this program obtain a mortgage from a lender who agrees to comply with sound lending practices.

Secretary Donovan and HUD are committed to providing the highest level of transparency possible as Recovery Act funds are spent quickly and efficiently. It is crucial that the American people are fully aware of how their tax dollars are being spent and can hold their federal leaders accountable. Every dollar of Recovery Act funds HUD spends can
be reviewed and tracked at HUD's Recovery Act website. The full text of HUD's funding notices and tracking future performance of these grants is also available at HUD's Recovery Act website.

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

City of Phoenix

The City of Phoenix (in a consortium agreement with Arizona Acorn Housing, ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, Community Housing Resources of Arizona, Community Services of Arizona, Desert Mission Neighborhoods Renewal, Foundation for Senior Living, Greater Phoenix Urban League, Housing Our Communities, Inc., Labor's Community Service Agency, The Leadership Center, Local Initiatives Support Coalition, Arizona Multibank Community Development Corporation, National Council of La Raza, Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation, National Farm Workers Service Center, and Neighborhoods Housing Services of Phoenix, and in a partnership with for-profit members CSG Advisors, Inc., Elliot D. Pollack Company, Fennemore Craig, P.C., Mandalay Homes, Inc., NSPAZ, LLC., and ROI Properties) has been awarded $60 million in NSP2 funds. These funds will be used in targeted areas across 155 census tracts with high foreclosure and vacancy risk scores to expand on existing community
development efforts in the targeted areas. The Consortium will provide down payment assistance for the purchase
of 197 foreclosed or vacant units, acquire and rehabilitate 333 foreclosed or abandoned units, redevelop 160 vacant or demolished units, preserve 122 units created with federal funding, and demolish 10 blighted structures. All of
these activities will benefit households whose income is at or below 120percent of area median income, with 25percent of the funds for households at or below 50percent of area median income. The Consortium will leverage $11,558,250 in other funds to ensure neighborhood stabilization.

Pima County

Pima County's Community Development and Neighborhood Conservation Department (in a consortium agreement with the City of Tucson, Southern Arizona Land Trust, Community Investment Corporation, Family Housing Resources, Primavera Foundation, Old Pueblo Community Services, and Habitat for Humanity/Tucson) has been awarded $22,165,000 in NSP2 funds. The Consortium will use these funds in targeted areas in the County, which include 29 census tracts experiencing high foreclosure rates, an aging housing stock, absentee landlords, and a population suffering from high unemployment and credit challenges. This eight-member consortium plans to acquire and rehabilitate 95 abandoned or foreclosed units, redevelop 90 vacant properties, create 35 land banks to ensure
future development possibilities, demolish 100 units, and provide financial assistance in the form of down payment assistance and funding for energy efficiency improvements to 60 units. These activities will create economic
diversity throughout the targeted neighborhoods by using all awarded funds to benefit households whose incomes
are at or below 120 percent of the area median income, with 25percent of the funds benefiting households at or below 50percent of area median income. The consortium's goal is to create a stable housing market in five years
that will lead to further social and economic stabilization. In addition to the NSP2 funds, the consortium use $14,252,798 in other funds to help reach neighborhood stabilization.

Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc.

Chicanos Por la Causa (www.cplc.org/about-us/history.aspx) - in a consortium agreement with Affordable Homes of South Texas, Community Development Corporation of Brownsville, El Paso HOAP, Tierra del Sol Housing Development Corporation, YES Housing, Inc., CHISPA, Inc., New Economics for Women, Colorado Rural Housing Development Corporation, Del Norte/Northeast Denver Housing Center, Mi Casa, Inc., Norris Square Civic Association, and The Resurrection Project - has been awarded a total of $137,107,133 in NSP2 funds. These funds will be used in
targeted areas across 332 census tracts in 8 States and the District of Columbia to address foreclosure and abandonment in the housing market and to create affordable housing for Latino communities. HUD estimates that
this non-profit housing developer will devote approximately $35.8 million throughout Arizona.

The Consortium proposed to use the awarded funds to demolish 165 blighted properties, land bank 203 foreclosed homes, and produce 1,998 affordable housing units through the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed or abandoned homes, financing mechanisms, and redevelopment of vacant or abandoned properties. These activities
will benefit households whose income is at or below 120% of area median income, with 25% of the funds for households at or below 50% of area median income. These funds, and the leveraging of $12,012,000 in other funds, will lead to neighborhood stabilization by improving the housing market through the creation of affordable housing in the targeted communities.

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