HUD AWARDS $8.1 MILLION HOPE VI GRANT TO NEW ORLEANS TO TRANSFORM FISCHER PUBLIC HOUSING, HELP RESIDENTS

FORT WORTH - The U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development today awarded a $8,127,632 HOPE VI Revitalization Grant to the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) that will be used to replace aging public
housing with new housing at the William J. Fischer Homes public housing development.

"I was part of the Congressionally-appointed commission that created the HOPE VI program a little more than 10
years ago," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "I'm pleased that New Orleans is one of the 24 cities that will
get funding this year to revitalize this community and improve the lives of its residents."

The grant will enable HANO to demolish 180 units at the Fischer development, which will be replaced by 118 on-site homeownership units, of which 98 will be available for sale to public housing and low-income residents. An additional 20 units will be for sale to market-rate homebuyers.

The revitalized development will provide housing and programs to foster resident self-sufficiency, including computer training and job readiness programs. HANO will serve as the master developer as well as the property manager, and will implement the homeownership plan.

New Orleans was selected from a pool of 56 applications HUD received from public housing authorities for the 2003 funding. This is the second HOPE VI Revitalization Grant New Orleans has received; the first was in 1994 for the
Desire public housing development.

The PHAs were competitively selected with an emphasis on the effectiveness and project readiness of their public housing revitalization plans. HUD policy provides local housing authorities the flexibility to develop revitalization plans that meet their local needs. A team of HUD public housing and revitalization specialists score applications based on several revitalization rating factors, including:

• Capacity: The ability of the housing authority or developer to administer and manage completion of the revitalization effort.
  
• Need for Revitalization: The severity of physical distress of the development.
  
• Match/Leveraging: The ability of the housing authority to supplement the HOPE VI grant with funding
  from other sources - private, state or local government.

The HOPE VI program, also known as the Urban Revitalization Demonstration, was created in 1992 as a result of a report by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which found approximately 86,000 public housing units in the U.S. needed revitalization. The first HOPE VI Revitalization grants were awarded in 1993, and including this round of grants, HUD has awarded 217 Revitalization Grants, totaling $5.5 billion, to 118 cities since then.

To date, approximately 112,000 aging public housing units have already been demolished, of which HOPE VI Revitalization grants are responsible for demolishing 65,000. HOPE VI Revitalization funding will also demolish an additional 17,000 units. Over all, there are 145,300 aging public housing units that have been, or are slated for, demolition using HOPE VI funding and other HUD programs.

When the first HOPE VI grants were awarded 10 years ago, it was the only significant means of leveraging private capital to revitalize public housing properties. Today new financial tools are available to public housing authorities.
For example, HUD has approved bond and loan transactions that have leveraged approximately $1.5 billion in the
last two years. By using HUD's Capital Fund Financing program, PHAs borrow large amounts of cash to do major
capital improvements or construct new units. They pay the debt using a portion of their annual Capital Fund
allocation from HUD.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; 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 as
well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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