HUD AWARDS $20 MILLION TO REVITALIZE SEVERELY DISTRESSED PUBLIC HOUSING IN PHOENIX
Phoenix Housing Department among eight cities selected nationwide

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $20 million to support demolishing the Frank Luke Addition public housing (except Building 25) and constructing new energy efficient housing with a total of 456 on- and off-site mixed-income rental units. The grant funding announced today is part of $153 million awarded to eight public housing agencies across the country through HUD's HOPE VI Revitalization Program to transform severely distressed public housing developments into mixed-income communities.

"No one can dispute the exceptional track record of HOPE VI to improve housing conditions for hundreds of communities and most importantly, thousands of families," said Donovan. "As we move toward the next generation of neighborhood revitalization-one that links housing, education, transportation, healthcare, and other support services-we will always remember it all began with HOPE VI."

The City of Phoenix Housing Department (CPHD) HOPE VI Grant Summary:

The City of Phoenix Housing Department (CPHD) is requesting a FY 2010 HOPE VI Revitalization grant in the amount
of $20,000,000, which will enable the Housing Department to revitalize the Frank Luke Addition (FLA) public housing development. This would be CPHD's third HOPE VI Revitalization grant. FLA is comprised of 138 units, all of which will be demolished (with the exception of one building - Building 25 for historic preservation purposes) and replaced with
a total of 456 on- and off-site mixed-income rental units. The 456 rental units will include: 175 replacement public housing/Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units, 100 LIHTC units, 156 affordable units and 25 market-rate
units. Of these units, 250 will be on-site and 206 will be off-site. Community and Supportive Services (CSS) will also be provided to all impacted families and will include case management, employment programs, early childhood education programs, programs for youth and seniors, health-related services, relocation assistance, transportation assistance, homeownership counseling, and broadband Internet access for residents. The City of Phoenix Housing Department has enlisted an extensive array of partners to supplement the services they will offer. Partners include: the Warner A. Gable Boys & Girls Club, Arizona Opportunities Industrial Center, Association of Supportive Childcare, Arizona State University School of Social Work, City of Phoenix Family Advocacy Center and many other partners.

Revitalization: The FLA HOPE VI Plan will adhere to high quality, sustainable development standards for the
buildings, landscaping, public space and defensible space. The Plan includes infrastructure improvements to replace most major utilities underground, as well as new streets, street lighting, sidewalks, and water mains. The City's reinvestment in FLA will also serve as the catalyst to investment in the proposed St. Luke's healthcare campus, 850,000 square feet of new healthcare clinical space, research facilities and outpatient and education facilities that will be constructed over the next 12 years. When the site is complete, it will provide a home for more than 3,000 employees in healthcare, education and research positions.

Summit Apartments is the off-site component of the project, located 12.5 miles from the FLA site in an affluent suburban neighborhood. The neighborhood has a higher median income ($69,040 compared to $20,563), higher education attainment levels and a larger number of individuals of working age. Summit Apartments will be a mixed-income community rehabilitated with energy efficient measures including low e windows, more efficient HVAC
systems, low water faucets and xeriscaping landscaping.

Demolition and Disposition: The current FLA site (12.2 acres with 138 units) will be completely demolished with
the exception of one public housing building, which will be converted into an active amenity component in the future complex to satisfy historical preservation requirements.

The CPHD has submitted a demolition/disposition application to HUD for approval (this application did not request
HOPE VI funds for demolition). Pursuant to this plan, the CPHD will dispose of the entire FLA property by entering into a long-term ground lease with two owner entities whose managing members are City of Phoenix (COP) developer instrumentalities. The CPHD will recycle all steel, iron, aluminum, copper wiring and piping. Reinforcing steel will also
be removed from the debris and recycled.

Proposed Unit Count: The application consists of 344 units, with 138 units on-site and 206 off-site. There are 250 new rental units planned for on-site, including 125 public housing/Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units, 100 LIHTC units and 25 market-rate units. The off-site component (Summit Apartments, located 12.5 miles from the FLA site) will consist of 50 Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)/public housing units below 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), 76 NSP units below 50% of AMI, 38 NSP units below 120% of AMI and the remaining 42 affordable
units below 80% of AMI. The off-site component will allow residents the opportunity to move to an area with increased job opportunities, considerable retail and grocery options and access to public transportation.

Budget: CPHD is requesting $20 million in HOPE VI funds. If awarded, these funds will be leveraged with over $49.7 million in funds, including nearly $7 million in funds from the CPHD, $22 million in tax exempt bonds, $1 million in development leverage matching funds, $8,844,518 in LIHTC equity and $3.5 million in NSP funds.

Community and Supportive Services: The CPHD has designed a strong outcome-oriented Community and Supportive Services (CSS) program focused on supporting families living in FLA and the off-site Summit Apartments. This plan is based on a recent needs survey of 83% of FLA households (there are currently no public housing families living in Summit Apartments), case management client assessments, information from the HOPE VI Coalition of Service Providers and information from the team of early childhood providers who serve the FLA neighborhood.

If awarded a HOPE VI grant, the FLA CSS team will include a Coordinator, 3.5 FTE Case Managers and a half-time Community Health Worker. In addition, two centers will be built at FLA: a new community center that will host a Neighborhood Networks Center and a Satellite One Stop Career Center (part of the Phoenix Workforce Connection System), as well as an Early Education and Parent Center (EEPC) designed to offer education tools and resources to parents.

Early Childhood Education: The CPHD used several resources to determine the early childhood development needs of the FLA community, including the Early Childhood Development Survey addendum which was given to FLA residents with children ages 0-5, the FLA case management client assessment, the 2008 First Things First Needs and Assets report of Central Phoenix and utilization reports from the Early Head Start and Head Start Programs. HOPE VI CSS early childhood education efforts will build on the results of these assessments with plans that include providing comprehensive educational, social and health services to support families in achieving a healthy environment to raise their children, dedicating a case manager to work with families with young children, and utilizing an Early Childhood Advisory Team (ECAT) to gather advice on developing early childhood education programs.

Energy Star and Green Development: FLA has been designed to achieve bronze certification using NAHB green development centers. The site will include the use of Energy Star certified construction materials and appliances to the greatest extent possible. The site will also incorporate above average insulation, high-quality siding materials and energy efficient windows and doors.

The eight housing authorities announced today were selected among 36 public housing authorities that applied for FY2010 HOPE VI Revitalization funding. Six of the grantees will be funded from FY2010 HOPE VI appropriations; two awards will come from FY2011 funding. Later this year, HUD will conduct a competition to award $65 million in FY2011 funding to implement the Department's new Choice Neighborhoods Program.

HUD awarded high marks to applicants who plan to extend neighborhood transformation efforts beyond public housing linking housing interventions with early childhood education programs. The Obama Administration is challenging communities to build upon the HOPE VI lessons to employ a comprehensive approach to community transformation. Choice Neighborhoods aims to transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable mixed-income neighborhoods with access to economic opportunities by revitalizing severely distressed public and assisted housing and then linking
these neighborhoods to well-functioning services, effective schools, public transportation and jobs.

Housing authorities are competitively selected for HOPE VI grants based on many factors including the effectiveness and project readiness of their revitalization plans. HUD gives recipients the flexibility to develop revitalization plans that meet their local needs. Among other criteria, grantees are selected based on the capacity of their housing authority and its development team to administer and manage completion of the revitalization effort; the severity of physical distress of the development; the ability of the housing authority to supplement the HOPE VI grant with funding from other sources, private, state or local government; the ability to provide supportive services to displaced residents; and the proposed green development and energy efficiency strategies.

Since 1993, HUD has awarded 260 HOPE VI Revitalization grants to 133 housing authorities- totaling nearly $6.3 billion. HUD began awarding HOPE VI grants following a 1992 report by the National Commission on Severely
Distressed Public Housing that found approximately 86,000 public housing units in the U.S. needed revitalization.
HOPE VI Revitalization grants are used for an array of activities, including: demolition of severely distressed public housing; acquisition of sites for off-site construction; capital costs of major rehabilitation; new construction and
other physical improvements; costs for mobility counseling and relocation; and community and supportive service programs for residents, including those relocated as a result of revitalization efforts.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.