HUD AWARDS DALLAS $2,225,000 TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE, LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
Grant will pay for land acquisition, development of 193 workforce housing units near public transit

FORT WORTH - 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 $68 million
in planning grants to cities across the country to help stimulate a new generation of sustainable and livable communities that connect housing, employment and economic development with transportation and other infrastructure improvements. As part of this program, the City of Dallas received a HUD grant of $2,225,000, which was announced at an event at City Hall attended by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Mayor Tom Leppert,
and HUD Regional Administrator C. Donald Babers.

Today, 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. At the same time, 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.

"Today two federal agencies come together to produce a win-win for local communities around the country," said
HUD Secretary Sean 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 produce more affordable housing near good jobs and commercial centers which will help to reduce our energy consumption and increase competitiveness."

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 programs to create one point of entry to federal resources for local, innovative sustainable community planning projects.

The City of Dallas will use its HUD grant to fund land acquisition and planning for four sites that will be part
of Dallas' Transit-Oriented Development Workforce Housing Project for 193 workforce housing units near public transit. The grant will allow Dallas to acquire the land at all four sites and produce the designs, site plans, construction development plans and environmental assessments required for development to proceed.

Core project partners, who will provide $1,000,000 in leveraging funds, include the Real Estate Council; Dallas Area Rapid Transit; Dallas Police Department and the Urban League.

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson said, "I am excited to see the City of Dallas receive this Sustainable Community Grant. As our area continues to grow, we must plan better economic development, public transportation and preserve our quality of life. This grant will allow us to achieve long-range planning and cooperation."

In Texas, the North Central Texas Council of Governments also received a Sustainable Community Challenge grant of $640,000 for its Planning for Livable Military Communities project, bringing the State's grant total to $2,865,000.

DOT's 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.

The new HUD-DOT program 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 barriers that exist between federal 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.

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