HUD AWARDS FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL MAINE

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded a $300,000 grant to the Passamaquoddy Development & Supply Co. in Perry, Maine, to stimulate economic development, create jobs and produce more affordable housing. The funding is part of $17 million awarded nationwide through HUD's Rural Housing and Economic Development Program. The grants will help 56 rural housing and development programs nationwide.

"Today we make another investment in our nation's heartland," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "This funding will help stimulate critically needed business development and that ultimately means jobs in these rural communities. These grants and the private investment they help to leverage will also produce more affordable housing
opportunities for working families across this great country."

Rural Housing and Economic Development grants help pay for land acquisition, new home construction, housing demolition, infrastructure improvements and construction training. Other possible uses include homeownership and financial counseling; financial assistance to homeowners, businesses and developers; creating microenterprises and small business incubators; and establishing lines of credit or revolving loan pools to benefit the local business community.

Rural communities will use this funding as seed money to pay the start-up costs for housing or economic
development projects. These grants will also help organizations to hire and train their staffs, develop strategic plans and acquire office space and other needed facilities.

The Passamaquoddy Development & Supply Co. will use its grant to develop standardized model home plans for one single-family home which will provide the lowest possible construction costs, reduced maintenance and/or repair of the homes. A three-bedroom model home will also be constructed and a 10-year study on the maintenance requirements will be conducted. The proposed leveraging amount is $118,810.

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, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
and espanol.hud.gov. For more information about FHA products, please visit www.fha.gov.

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NOTE: For information on how the Passamaquoddy Development & Supply Co. will implement its grant, please call (207) 852-0900. For information on HUD's Rural Housing and Economic Development program, please call (617) 994-8218.