HUD AND DOT AWARD $2.3 MILLION TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE LIVABLE COMMUNITY IN JERSEY CITY
Unprecedented joint funding to foster integrated approach to housing, jobs and transportation

NEWARK - In an unprecedented collaboration between two federal agencies, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today jointly awarded $2,273,370 to
help stimulate a new generation of sustainable and livable communities in New Jersey, connect housing, employment and economic development with transportation and other infrastructure improvements.The joint HUD-DOT funding
will support 62 local and regional partnerships seeking to create a more holistic and integrated approach to
connecting affordable housing, job opportunities and transportation corridors.

"Today two federal agencies come together to produce a win-win for local communities around the country," said
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "We're helping local and regional planners connect all the dots in their efforts to
make their communities more sustainable and livable. These grants will help communities to hit on all cylinders, producing more affordable housing near good jobs and commercial centers which will help to reduce our energy consumption and increase competitiveness."

"This is a federal investment in creating both local jobs and the type of 21st Century community that attracts
families with affordable housing, public transit, and lower energy costs" said Senator Robert Menendez. "The Canal Crossing redevelopment project will afford job opportunities to local workers while providing thousands of local
families with the type of neighborhood where they can prosper and thrive."

Congressman Donald M. Payne said, "Redevelopment efforts in Jersey City have been very robust in the past few years. This grant will bolster revitalization efforts, specifically in an area with high unemployment and high poverty rates. The joint HUD and DOT grant will improve the wellbeing of the community by increasing transportation and housing and job opportunities. I am pleased that my constituents in the 10th Congressional District will benefit from this award."

"We are pleased that HUD Secretary Donovan and the Obama administration recognized the great potential for redevelopment in Jersey City's Canal Crossing Redevelopment Area and awarded the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency this substantial grant," said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy. "This is an investment by the federal government in an area of Jersey City that while economically challenged, has much potential and where the city has made a commitment to utilize sustainable development practices.Furthermore, this grant reaffirms the great work being done by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, in conjunction with our Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce, to continue to make Jersey City a place where development and investment are
creating new neighborhoods and new opportunities."

"For HUD and DOT, sustainability means tying the quality and location of housing and transportation to broader opportunities, like access to good jobs, quality schools, and safe streets," said HUD Regional Administrator Adolfo Carrión. "That is why I am so pleased by this partnership.In the larger context, it means that the federal
government will be a partner to sustainable development, not a barrier."

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said, "With the investments HUD and DOT are making today, we are strengthening neighborhoods by connecting housing with affordable and sustainable transportation choices.This is a win-win for people who live in these communities because they will have travel options to better serve them."

HUD is awarding $40 million in new Sustainable Community Challenge Grants to help support local planning designed
to integrate affordable housing, good jobs and public transportation.Meanwhile, DOT is awarding nearly $28 million in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II Planning Grants to implement localized plans that ultimately lead to projects that integrate transportation, housing and economic development.

HUD and DOT are awarding the following grant in New Jersey:

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency will be awarded $2,273,370. The Canal Crossing project will address modifications to infrastructure, subdivision of properties, zoning changes and better connection to the light rail
stops and bike paths at Canal Crossing - a 111 acre redevelopment site in Jersey City surrounded by a residential population of predominately minority households with high unemployment and high poverty rates. Revitalization of
this area is hampered by outdated infrastructure, large tracts of contaminated industrial wastelands, and a road system that fails to provide sufficient linkages for pedestrian access to the region's regional rail networks. Planning
will focus on creating a residential mixed use, transit oriented community with access to open space amenities in a community with a significant low-income population.

HUD's Sustainable Communities Challenge Grants will foster reform and reduce barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital and sustainable communities.These funds will be used by communities, large and small, to address local challenges to integrating transportation and housing. When these activities are done in conjunction with transportation projects, they can greatly increase the efficiency and access of local transportation while
encouraging mixed-use or transit-oriented development. Such efforts may include amending or updating local master plans, zoning codes, and building codes to support private sector investment in mixed-use development, affordable housing and the re-use of older buildings. Other local efforts may include retrofitting main streets to provide safer routes for children and seniors, or preserving affordable housing and local businesses near new transit stations.

TIGER II Planning Grants will prepare or design surface transportation projects that would be eligible for funding
under the TIGER II Discretionary Grant program.These projects include highways, bridges, transit, railways, ports or bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Rather than require applicants to navigate two separate grant application procedures that might be on different timelines and with different requirements, HUD and DOT joined their two new discretionary planning program to
create one point of entry to federal resources for local, innovative sustainable community planning projects.

The Community Challenge grants compliment the 45 Sustainable Communities Regional Grants announced last week
by HUD. The Challenge Grants help to support local communities seeking to integrate housing, transportation, and environmental strategies that will enhance local economic development, provide greater housing and transportation choices, and develop long-range visions for how they want their community to grow.

The new HUD-DOT program also builds on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an innovative new interagency collaboration, launched by President Obama in June 2009, between the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Guided by six Livability Principles, the Partnership is designed to remove the traditional federal government
silos that exist between departments and strategically target the agencies' transportation, land use, environmental, housing and community development resources to provide communities the resources they need to build more
livable, sustainable communities.

###

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; andtransform the way HUD does business. More information
about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.