HUD AWARDS $30 MILLION TO REVITALIZE BALTIMORE NEIGHBORHOODS

PHILADELPHIA - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Joe DeFelice announced today a $30 million grant for the City of Baltimore and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) to implement their neighborhood transformation plan. Provided through HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, this grant will help transform and revitalize the Perkins, Somerset and Oldtown neighborhoods.

"Congratulations to Mayor Pugh and Executive Director Abrahams on their grant award," said DeFelice. "Now, it's time to make the transformation plan a reality. I'm looking forward to seeing a vibrant community emerge as Baltimore City leverages the power of public-private partnerships to create neighborhoods where families can thrive with a renewed sense of hope and opportunity."

"This significant grant by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development is transformative. It will help guarantee affordable new housing for every resident of Perkins Homes. It will also enable us to attract further investment for the creation of a new school, additional housing and community development. We are excited for Baltimore and all our partners in this revitalization project who, together with us, are moving Baltimore forward," said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh.

"HABC would like to thank HUD for awarding a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant to HABC and the City of Baltimore to fulfill our long-term vision of transforming the Perkins, Somerset, Old Town area," said Executive Director Janet Abrahams. "We are very excited to take the next step with our federal, state, city and community partners in this major redevelopment project, which will replace distressed public housing with high quality housing for people from all income levels and create new education, recreation and economic opportunities that will connect residents to the tools they need to achieve their personal goals."

"This grant gives us the opportunity to make transformational changes that directly benefit the longtime residents of the neighborhoods," said Department of Housing and Community Development Commissioner Michael Braverman. "There is a lot of work to do to get there, but we have the right team assembled and the cross-jurisdictional support that we need to get it done."

"The revitalization of East Baltimore holds tremendous potential for the growth and economic development of the city. The Choice Neighborhoods grant gives Baltimore the flexibility to prioritize projects that are important to our communities and leverage private dollars to have the maximum impact. These funds are crucial to improving public housing, eliminating vacant properties, and supporting local schools and public services. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I fought hard to maintain funding for this very important program, and I will continue working to invest in Baltimore and the entire state," said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen.

"I applaud Baltimore City for winning this competitive grant that will expand the federal-local partnership to enhance development in East Baltimore," said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. "Baltimore's Congressional delegation continues to fight to preserve such grant programs that are spurring private-public partnerships and supporting our local neighborhoods, so they can reach their fullest potential."

HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative leverages significant public and private dollars to support locally driven strategies that address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood revitalization-with local leaders, residents, and stakeholders coming together to create and implement a transformation plan.

The other communities selected to receive the combined $144 million in Choice Neighborhoods grants are Flint, Michigan; Phoenix, Arizona; Shreveport, Louisiana and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The five awardees will replace 1,788 severely distressed public housing units with 3,800 new mixed-income, mixed-use housing units as part of an overall effort to revitalize neighborhoods. For every $1 in Choice Neighborhoods funding they receive, the awardees and their partners will leverage an additional $9.40 in public and private funding for their project proposals. Together, these five communities are leveraging an initial $1.35 billion through other public/private sources to magnify their impact.

Choice Neighborhoods builds on the successes of HUD's HOPE VI Program, linking housing improvements with a wide variety of public services and neighborhood improvements to create neighborhoods of opportunity. Choice Neighborhoods is HUD's signature place-based program, which supports innovative and inclusive strategies that bring public and private partners together to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. The Department’s Mid-Atlantic region includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia. The regional office is in Philadelphia. Follow Regional Administrator Joe DeFelice on Twitter.

More information about HUD and its programs is available at www.hud.gov and www.espanol.hud.gov. Connect with HUD on social media or sign up for news alerts via HUD's email list. Follow Secretary Carson on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.