HUD ASSISTANT SECRETARY, MAYOR BERRY SHOWCASE SUCCESS OF HUD NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION PROGRAM IN ALBUQUERQUE
Asst. Secretary Marquez Highlights Project Rebuild, Proposed Program Expansion that Would Create More Jobs, Affordable Housing for the City and the Nation

ALBUQUERQUE - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary Mercedes Marquez, Mayor Richard Berry, and Officials from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration as well as the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority today toured a formerly foreclosed home in Albuquerque that was purchased and rehabbed with Neighborhood Stabilization Funds (NSP). Participants discussed the NSP's successes in New Mexico, highlighted by the tour itself. While once a vacant property in the area, it has now been repaired, a contract of sale has been signed, and a family will soon call it home.

Congress created the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is administered by HUD, to help cities, counties and States deal with the problems that resulted from the mortgage foreclosure crisis in the nation-lowered property values, and increased blight and crime. Nationally, HUD has allocated $6.8 billion to preserve our nation's neighborhoods, including $7 million to Albuquerque. The State of New Mexico has received a total of $24,600,000 in total from NSP.

Albuquerque is using some of their NSP funding to buy and rehabilitate vacant area properties. Once work is complete on properties purchased under the program, the rehabbed homes are sold or leased to eligible families. For purchase, homebuyer incomes may not exceed 120% of the area median income (about $73,200 for a family of 4). Thus far, the City has rehabbed 20 properties, with 16 sold and two under contract. And for additional leveraging, Albuquerque will use income generated by the sale of these properties to purchase and rehab a further 7 this year. The City has also used NSP funds to purchase and rehab multifamily apartments as well, and to date has purchased 6 apartments with 52 units of rental housing. Five of those apartments have been fully repaired and are leasing to the public.

"The City of Albuquerque and our partners from the State of New Mexico have done an outstanding job in using NSP funds - exactly as Congress and the Administration had planned. Their programs are providing safe affordable housing and stabilizing neighborhoods. New Mexico communities have utilized NSP to help over 150 families purchase homes or find decent rental housing. That's thanks to not only the funding, but to good people like Mayor Berry that help implement the program to provide the greatest impact," said HUD Assistant Secretary Marquez.

A/S Marquez also announced the Administration's Project Rebuild, a $15 billion proposed HUD program that is part of the American Jobs Act that would continue to build on the successes of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Project Rebuild includes important innovations beyond the NSP, such as allowing for-profit organizations that have participated in neighborhood stabilization efforts to be full partners and adding eligibility for commercial redevelopment of vacant structures, which is not allowed under NSP. The Administration estimates that Project Rebuild will create 200,000 jobs.

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