HUD Highlights E-Newsletter

HEY TWEETIE!
Want to be as current as current can be with HUD and its partners in the Northwest? Starting in July, receive near-daily updates whenever we issue a new funding announcement, mortgagee letter, press release or regulation? Then join our Region's brand, spanking new Tweeter service. It's free, informative, reliable and timely. Join us on Twitter at @HUDRegion10

! ! ! NEWS FLASH ! ! !
Start your engines! On June 7th, HUD published the General Section of its fiscal year 2010 Notice of Funding Availability with everything you need to do to get your organization ready to compete for HUD funds when more than 30 program-specific NOFA's are published by HUD in the weeks and months ahead. Get a head start by visiting online. And do it today! ! !

! ! ! NOFA-LERT ! ! !
Speaking of HUD NOFA's, the competitions began for two important HUD funding opportunities in July. The first was a collaboration between HUD and the Department of Transportation to competitively award up to $75 million in funding - $35 million in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II Planning Grants and $40 million in Sustainable Community Challenge Grants for localized planning activities that ultimately lead to projects that integrate transportation, housing and economic development. "Together," said Vice President Biden, "their investments will strengthen communities by connecting housing and transportation options, increasing economic opportunities, promoting environmental sustainability and improving their overall quality of life." Pre-applications are due July 24th with full applications due August 23rd. The second was a $100 million Sustainable Communities Planning Grant, the first of its kind designed to create stronger, more sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy. The competitively awarded grants will go to multi-sector partnerships and regional consortia consisting of state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and philanthropic organizations "integrate economic development, land use, and transportation investments." Not less than $25 million will be awarded to regions with populations of 500,000 or less. Applications are due August 22nd and will be reviewed by HUD, EPA and DOT. For more visit HUD's Office of Sustainability online.

BRIEF BRIEFS
Idaho Housing & Finance launches new Affordable Advantage Loan product offering a down payments as low as $1,000, and no mortgage insurance requirement. . .Thurston County Housing Authority celebrates grand opening of $3.6 million, 24-unit Olympia Crest II which, says Olympian, is "touted as first green-built multifamily project" in county. . .REACH CDC of Portland celebrates "grand re-opening" of 38-unit "completely renovated" and now "green" Walnut Park Apartments in northeast Portland and, just as grandly, Innovative Housing Inc. celebrates re-opening of 44-unit Hewitt Place in Troutdale. . .Othello Housing Authority celebrates grand opening of Lugar Seguro, a 96-bed farm worker housing complex financed with $3.5 million in grants and loans from Washington Department of Commerce and $500,000 loan from Bank of Whitman. . .Telling KREM-TV that "it was like a ghost town, but now it's really picked up," business owners say $17 million "facelift" gives Spokane's Hillyard district "bright" future. . .After five years of work, says News Review, Umpqua Community Development and WISH - Working for Independent Supported Housing - break ground on 15-unit Neu Place in Roseburg for disabled adults. . .Korean Women's Association cuts ribbon on 61-unit Senior City complex in Federal Way.

UP-TO-DATA
HUD and the Department of the Treasury have launched an on-line monthly scorecard on the nation's housing market at www.hud.gov/scorecard. "This scorecard," said HUD Secretary Donovan, "will allow the American people to monitor the Administration's efforts to strengthen the housing market and hold the government and industry accountable." In issuing the first report, Donovan and Treasury Secretary Geithner noted that more than 2.5 million Americans purchased homes using the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, that since April 2009 2.8 million homeowners have restructured their mortgages - including 1.2 million under the Home Affordable Modification Program - and that FHA has helped "nearly 400,000 homeoweners stay in their homes since April 2009 through FHA loss mitigation efforts."

HARD HITTING
Saying "we want to keep housing affordable and prevent foreclosure for as many Oregonians for whom that is possible," Oregon Housing & Community Services' Victor Merced says agency has submitted plans to disburse $88 million in TARP funds to Treasury Department. Oregon was one of just five states to receive second-round Hardest Hit funds from Treasury. Plan includes loan modification assistance, mortgage payment assistance, mortgage preservation assistance, loan refinancing assistance and, if all else fails, transitional assistance. Plan focuses 80 percent of resources on 20 "hardest hit" counties - Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Grant, Harney, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Wallowa and Yamhill - where 73 percent of Oregonians live. Those at-risk should call 1-800-SAFENETor visit www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org

BRIEF BRIEFS TOO
Polk CDC breaks ground for Jen's Place, a 5-unit, drug-and alcohol-free residence for single parents in Dallas. . .USDA Rural Development awards $11.5 million in loans and grants to Lummi Nation to upgrade wastewater system. . .After "1,500 hours and more" of volunteer labor, reports KCBY-TV, Coos Bay Habitat for Humanity holds housewarming party for its latest completion. . .HUD provides $4.3 million to renew Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS funding Our House of Portland, Oregon Department of Human Services and Housing Resources Group of Seattle. . .Idaho Housing & Finance recognizes 75 Idaho Falls REALTORS "who helped homebuyers utilize its IdaMortgage Home Loan program" with gold award to Marcus Hopkins of WinStar Realty, silver to Julie Winn of Century 21 High Desert and bronze to Launie Shelman, also of WinStar. . .HUD posts 2009 American Housing Survey online. . .Daily Emerald says University of Oregon has selected Salem for its 2010-2011 Sustainable Cities Initiative in which "25 faculty and 600 students" help the City "create solutions to important development, planning and civic engagement issues". . .Labor Department awards $1.5 million to Central City Concern, Easter Seals and St. Vincent DePaul in Oregon and Washington state Veterans Affairs Department and Partners in Careers in Washington to provide job training to homeless veterans. . . Roseburg planning director Brian Davis wins 2010 Distinguished Leadership Award from Oregon Chapter of American Planning Association. . .Ketchikan celebrates grand opening of the 8-unit, $1.9 million Opportunity Housing while Juneau celebrates grand opening of 4-unit, $906,000 Mendenhall Woods, both built under HUD's Section 811 supportive housing for persons with disabilities program. . .Seattle Housing Authority breaks ground on Lake City HOPE VI Revitalization project. . .Todd Johnston selected to succeed retiring Carol Snell as executive director of Northwest Oregon Housing Authority. . .American Baptist Homes of the West and Beacon Development Group celebrate grand opening of 39-unit, HUD-funded Shepherd's Garden complex for the elderly in Lynnwood. . .National Old Time Fiddle Festival gets new home, in historic men's dormitory renovated with private funds on grounds of Intermountain Institute in Weiser. . .Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity Trasvina hosts listening tour in Spokane on the kinds of housing discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people - and what HUD can do to combat it.

VET DEBT
Saying "though they served and sacrificed so much for our country, too many of our veterans find themselves on the streets and in homeless shelters," HUD Secretary Donovan has announced the award of an additional 630 homeless veterans in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to provide permanent housing assistance through a HUD rental assistance program that connects homeless veterans from local Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with HUD rental assistance vouchers provided through 21 local public housing agencies. Over the last three years, HUD has awarded 1,650 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers in the Northwest.

LE-MAYZING
HUD, the nation's housing agency, has just gone into the car business. Well, sort of. Thanks to the City of Tacoma's decision to okay a HUD Section 108 loan guarantee and Department of the Treasury New Market tax credits, the collection is about to get a brand new, permanent home - the LeMay America's Car Museum across the street from the Tacoma Dome and just north of Interstate 5. The LeMay collection - assembled by Nancy and the late Harold LeMay of Tacoma, is, says The Guinness Book of World Records, the largest privately-held collection of automobiles in the world. Ground was broken in June and, when it opens in 2001 is expected to attract 425,000 visitors a year. It's sure, said HUD Regional Administrator McBride, to "join The Space Needle, Mt. Rainier and the Orcas in Puget Sound on the "must-see" list when people visit western Washington." For more, go to website.

BACK IN BUSINESS
There's no historical evidence that her husband ever spent the night there, but our nation's very first First Lady surely would be pleased by the work done by the Housing Authority of Portland, Central City Concern, Multnomah County, the State of Oregon, the City of Portland and the Enterprise Green Communities Fund on her namesake, the Martha Washington Hotel in downtown Portland. Built in 1923, it had stood vacant for a number of years. Thanks to a $17.9 million renovation, though, it's just celebrated its grand re-opening and will now provide an additional 108 units of affordable housing in downtown. "It's a tremendous asset," said Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen told The Oregonian. The Authority will own and Central City Concern will manage the complex.

BRIEF BRIEFS THREE
Seattle Housing Authority wins one of four 2010 HUD Secretary's Housing & Design Awards for its Madrona Live/Work project which demonstrates "excellence in improving housing accessibility for people with disabilities". . .Portland Housing Bureau awards $120,000 grant to Minority Homeownership Assistance Collaborative to help, says Margaret Van Vliet, "mitigate loss of loss of homeownership and displacement" in north and northeast Portland. . .Tammy Barney, a Deschutes County Commissioner, and Michael Friedman, executive director of United Community Action Network in Roseburg, join Oregon Housing Council, succeeding Scott Cooper and Stuart Liebowitz. . .Cities of Bellevue, Chehalis, Duvall, Grays Harbor, Hoquiam, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Tacoma and Vancouver and Skagit and Whatcom counties are awarded 2010 Smart Communities Awards by Governor Gregoire for "creating vibrant, quality communities". . .Department of Justice and FBI announce that 3-month Operation Malicious Mortgage has resulted in 144 mortgage fraud cases with 406 defendants charged involving some $1 billion in losses to investors and borrowers. . .Lower Columbia Community Action in Longview celebrates the 20th anniversary of its self-help housing program. . . Senator Murkowski, Senator Merkley and Congressman Young announce $200,000 HUD grant for infrastructure improvements at Abused Women's Aid in Crisis center in Anchorage. . .Inland Northwest Community Foundation awards $300,000 to St. Vincent DePaul of Northern Idaho to support its "one stop shop for people in need" in Coeur d'Alene. . .Pacific Northwest Regional Council of NAHRO confers 2010 President's Award on Paul Purcell of Beacon Development Group for "outstanding service in the field of affordable housing and community development" and PRAIS Awards on Longview Housing Authority for its Phoenix House and Veterans Integration projects, Idaho Housing & Finance for its Whitman Hotel renovation and Home Partnership Foundation and Housing Authority of Portland for its Humboldt Gardens redevelopment.

NOTES TO NOTE
July 9th is deadline for public comment on Oregon Housing & Community Services and Oregon Business & Development Department's draft Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and Action Plan expected to submitted to HUD on HUD & Treasury Department seeking comments by July 21st on "future of the housing finance system, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the overall role of the Federal government in housing policy". . .July 16th is deadline to apply for up to $45.1 million in USDA funds for "start-up capital" for rural microenterprises and microentrepreneurs. . . In May 18th Federal Register at website: (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-11731.htm). HUD seeks comments by July 19th on proposed project on small area Fair Market Rents in 2011certain metropolitan areas to determine whether it will give Housing Choice Voucher tenants "greater ability to move into opportunity areas where jobs, transportation and education opportunities" and "prevent undue subsidy in low-rent areas". . .Obama Administration issues national plan to prevent homelessness at website: (www.usich.gov/PDF/OpeningDoors_2010_FSPPreventEndHomeless.pdf). . .Treasury's CDFI program schedules "Economic Development Strategies in Indian Country" workshops in Anchorage & Seattle in August. . .Department of Energy sets July 10th as deadline for comment on "National Energy Rating Program is to encourage consumers to invest in energy improvements in existing homes by providing reliable information to them at low cost". . .July 18th is deadline to apply for USDA Rural Development under Section 514 & 516 Rural Farm Worker Housing Grants. . .HUD sets August 23rd deadline for public comment on proposed rule to "permit builders of manufactured homes (mobile homes) to complete construction at the home installation site, rather than in the factory". . .HUD issues guidance to treat "gender identity discrimination most often faced by transgender persons as gender discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, and instructs HUD staff to inform individuals filing complaints about state and local agencies that have LGBT-inclusive discrimination laws". . .On June 4th HUD issues general funding notice saying it will begin requiring applicants seeking grant funding to comply with state and local laws that protect individuals from being denied housing based on their lawful source of income. . .August 31st is deadline to submit comments to FDIC, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or Office of Thrift Supervision on " the agencies' regulations governing procedures for assessing a financial institution's performance under the Community Reinvestment Act". . . City of Seattle sets September 15th deadline for nonprofit or private developers to apply for up to $26 million in local capital funds "to support the acquisition, rehabilitation, or new construction of rental housing" for low-income people.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"In 1996, a [federal] law passed - the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act - that changed the whole climate on reservations," says Barbara Stout, director of the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Housing Authority. "Prior to NAHASDA, the only thing you saw being built - unless someone had a lot of money - was somebody putting in a trailer or building a shack, because the banks wouldn't make loans." "I built 10 houses last year," adds Jim Kackman, director of public works for the Tribe, "and these are not your typical HUD houses. These are the kind of houses you will see in mid- to upscale developments in Spokane. I was given very clear direction by the tribal administration to create larger homes with larger rooms for larger families. A lot of tribal members tell me these are the best homes ever constructed on the reservation. There is a lot of pressure and high expectations - but for the most part, we're able to say what we're going to do and do what we said. It's fulfilling. It's a big day around here every time we close a home sale. Home ownership on the rez is pretty few and far between, really. . .[so] to see folks succeed and meet their goal and hand 'em the keys, It's a big day." -- From" Indian Country Estates" by Kevin Taylor in The Inlander, June 10, 2010.

COMING UP

HUD Portland hosts Federal Labor Standards Workshop for Contractors, July 1st, Portland. Visit online.

Idaho Department of Commerce hosts the annual Northwest Community Development Institute workshops, July 12th to 16th, Boise. Visit online.

Alaska Housing Finance Corporation hosts Fair Housing Workshop, July 12th, Anchorage. Visit online.

HUD Portland hosts Fair Housing Workshop for Landlords & Tenants, July 14th, Portland. Visit online.

HUD Spokane hosts Federal Labor Standards Workshop for Housing Authorities & Tribal Housing Authorities, July 20th, Spokane. Visit online.

Administration for Native Americans hosts Assets for Independence Native Initiative conference, July 20th to 22nd, Anchorage. Visit online.

HUD Spokane hosts Federal Labor Standards Workshop for CDBG & HOME grantees, July 21st, Spokane. Visit online.

HUD Spokane hosts Federal Labor Standards Workshop for Contractors, July 22nd, Spokane. Visit online.

12th annual SolWest Renewable Energy Fair, John Day, July 23rd to 25th. Visit online: (http://oregonrural.org/events/solwest-renewable-energy-fair).

King County Office of Civil Rights hosts Fair Housing Jeopardy - An Advanced Fair Housing Course, July 28th, Seattle. Visit online.

Planning Association of Washington hosts "Last Legacy of the Western Planner" Conference, August 10th to 13th, Vancouver. Visit online: (www.planningpaw.org/2010_savedate.pdf).

U.S. Treasury's CDFI program and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco host Economic Development Strategies in Indian County conference, August 17th, Seattle. Visit online.

Pacific Northwest Mortgage Lenders Annual Conference, August 21st to 24th, Boise. Visit online.

King County Office of Civil Rights offers both Advanced and Basis Fair Housing Training, August 25th, Seattle. Visit online.

****