HUD AWARDS $22 MILLION TO REVITALIZE SEVERELY DISTRESSED PUBLIC HOUSING IN LOUISVILLE
Louisville among eight cities selected nationwide

LOUISVILLE - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $22 million to support Louisville Metropolitan Housing Authority revitalize the Sheppard Square public housing development. Sheppard Square currently consists of 326 units, all of which will be demolished and replaced by 454 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."

"I encouraged our Housing Authority to apply for this HOPE VI grant and urged Secretary Donovan to approve the funding because of the enormous impact it will have in the revitalization of such an important part of our community," said Congressman John Yarmuth.

The Louisville Metropolitan Housing Authority FY2010 HOPE VI Revitalization grant in the amount of $22,000,000, will enable the Housing Authority to revitalize the Sheppard Square public housing development. This would be LMHA's fourth HOPE VI Revitalization grant. Sheppard Square currently consists of 326 units, all of which will be demolished. Sheppard Square will be replaced with 326 public housing/low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) units, 46 LIHTC-only units and 59 market-rate rental units, and 23 market rate homeownership units. Of the 454 units, 310 will be on-site and 144 off-site.

The revitalization of Sheppard Square will result in a transit-oriented community of energy-efficient housing choices available to households with a range of incomes. An off-site housing component will further de-concentration goals while fulfilling the commitment to one-for-one replacement of public housing units.

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 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 FY 2011 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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