HUD SECRETARY AND PITTSBURGH MAYOR PUSH AMERICAN JOBS ACT
Project Rebuild to Return More Pennsylvania Neighborhoods to Prosperity

PITTSBURGH - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl toured a Pittsburgh neighborhood to highlight how President Obama's American Jobs Act and Project Rebuild can help revitalize neighborhoods, create jobs, and support local economies throughout the City of Pittsburgh.

"Because of neighborhood stabilization efforts, we can see for ourselves how a small investment in less than two dozen homes has been game-changing for the entire Hill Neighborhood - attracting a grocery store, a revitalized theater and other private investment," said Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Project Rebuild - part of President Obama's proposed American Jobs Act - will create even more development opportunities, because it will allow commercial redevelopment essential to neighborhood revitalization to be funded directly - encouraging more private sector participation and forging stronger partnerships with non-profit organizations," he added.

Community Supporters greet HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan

Marimba Milliones, Hill CDC Executive Director, describes the impact of NSP1 funds to Secretary Donovan and local leaders

"The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) has provided the critical funding resources necessary to invest in the revitalization of key Pittsburgh neighborhoods, such as the Hill District, Sheraden and Larimer, creating jobs and quality residential opportunities as a result," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. "The NSP funding outlined in the American Jobs Act will ensure that we can continue to advance Pittsburgh's 3rd Renaissance by developing and improving our City's communities." Building on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Project Rebuild incorporates new elements such as the inclusion of revitalization of commercial properties and partnerships with for-profit organizations and stronger partnerships with non-profit organizations to an already successful program, and that will help create more jobs and have a much more immediate impact to the local economy.

If approved by Congress, Project Rebuild would invest $15 billion in proven strategies that leverage private capital
and expertise to rehabilitate hundreds of thousands of properties in communities across the country. Building on the successful ideas developed during the implementation of the Neighborhood Stabilization Project (NSP), Project Rebuild would include the following innovative ideas:

• Allow for the revitalization of commercial properties
• Include For-Profit Entities to Gain Expertise, Leverage Federal Dollars and Speed Program Implementation
• Increase Support for "Land Banking"
• Create Jobs Maintaining Properties and Avoiding Community Blight

Project Rebuild will create nearly 200,000 jobs nationwide and is fundamentally an investment not just in hard hit places but also in the families who live there - the millions of homeowners who have seen their property values
decline through no fault of their own, just for being near a foreclosed property. Its inclusion in the American Jobs Act reflects President Obama's belief that rebuilding neighborhoods is essential to rebuilding our economy.

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