HUD AWARDS $22 MILLION TO REVITALIZE SEVERELY DISTRESSED PUBLIC HOUSING IN DENVER
Denver Housing Authority among eight cities selected nationwide

DENVER - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $22 million to revitalize the south Lincoln Homes public housing development. The current 182 units will be redeveloped and replaced with 457 units of new public, low income housing, and affordable homeownership 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 competitive funding is a major opportunity for the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) to continue to build on regional successes of our sustainable communities’ partnership with other federal agencies," HUD Regional Administrator Rick M. Garcia said. "I commend DHA, not only, for strategically planning a revitalization project to transform the site into a green community, promoting a healthy lifestyle, access to transit, and employment opportunities, but also for their leadership in demonstrating to the entire metro-area that sustainability can be achieved while providing housing choices for low to moderate income residents in Denver."

The eight housing authorities announced nationally today were selected among 36 public housing authorities that applied for FY 2010 HOPE VI Revitalization funding. Six of the grantees will be funded from FY 2010 HOPE VI appropriations; two awards will come from FY 2011 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 and espanol.hud.gov.

For more information, contacts are:

Denver Housing Authority: Stella Madrid at (720) 212-9059
Denver Mayor: Michaela Turner at (720) 865-9189