HUD HEADQUARTERS RELOCATES TO DALLAS FOR A DAY AS CUOMO ANNOUNCES $47.4 MILLION TO HELP REVITALIZE CITY'S CORE

Cuomo joined Mayor Ron Kirk and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson at a morning community forum, at ceremonies dedicating new mixed-income housing and four mobile police stations that HUD helped fund, and at a lunch with business and community leaders.

"I've brought the top leadership of HUD here because we want to work with Dallas to strengthen our successful partnership and to help extend the city's prosperity to all of its people," Cuomo said. "To succeed, we have to understand Dallas and its needs, and the best way to do that is to walk through the city's neighborhoods, see the challenges it faces, and talk with its people and leaders."

"Mayor Kirk is setting an example for the nation with his programs to revitalize Dallas, and Congresswoman Johnson is a leader in fighting for the city's interests in Washington," Cuomo said. "Dallas is a leader in building strong and effective partnerships between all levels of government and the private sector."

The events Cuomo participated in took place in or near the Dallas Enterprise Community, an economically distressed area around the downtown business district. President Clinton designated the 19.8-square-mile Enterprise Community under a HUD program. The Enterprise Community is receiving $3 million in grants and additional reduced-interest tax-exempt bond financing to spark the creation of new jobs, businesses, housing and a broad range of urban revitalization efforts.

The community forum was held at the new Larry Johnson Recreation Center, which was built with the help of a $1 million donation by New York Knicks forward Larry Johnson (who grew up in the neighborhood) and $500,000 from HUD.

The $10.5 million apartment development that Cuomo dedicated -- Treymore at City Place -- will provide 102 units of affordable housing and 78 units of market-rate housing with the help of $1.2 million in HUD loan guarantees and $2.5 million in federal tax credits.

Cuomo also dedicated two mobile police storefronts. HUD provided $448,000 (as part of the $3 million in Enterprise Community grants) to Dallas to buy four mobile police storefronts, which are converted recreational vehicles that are used in community policing. The mobile police stations, which began operating in August and will travel around Dallas, will help reduce crime and help attract new businesses and residents.

"We are incredibly delighted to welcome Secretary Cuomo and the many HUD Assistant Secretaries and staff to the City of Dallas," Kirk said. "We look forward to strengthening our ties with HUD. By spending this day together, our community leaders, local officials and their counterparts at HUD will learn more about each other and become more effective partners."

"We have had a good working relationship with HUD in the past and we look forward to continuing that relationship with Secretary Cuomo," Kirk said. "This visit is proof that he is committed to working towards building a better future for the citizens of Dallas."

"Secretary Cuomo's visit to Dallas shows he and HUD are committed to working to build a better future for the city and its neighborhoods," Johnson said. "Working together, we can get the job done."

Cuomo announced the following new HUD assistance to Dallas:

• $19.6 million for a broad range of community development programs that will create jobs and help revitalize Dallas under HUD's Community Development Block Grant program.

• $10.7 million in mortgage insurance from the Federal Housing Administration (part of HUD) for the reconstruction of the Kirby Building to provide affordable and market-rate housing.

• $7.5 million in grants to modernize public housing run by the Dallas Housing Authority, which HUD rates as a high-performing agency.

• $6 million for programs to increase the supply of low- and moderate-income housing under HUD's Home Investment Partnerships program.

• $2.6 million for housing programs for people with AIDS. In addition, the groundbreaking ceremony for Comal Gardens, a 12-unit apartment facility in Dallas for people with AIDS and their families, was held today as part of the HUD For A Day activities.

• $519,000 for emergency shelters for homeless people under HUD's Emergency Shelter Grants program.

• $275,115 to five nonprofit groups in Dallas and Fort Worth to provide housing counseling that will help more people become homeowners.

• $201,903 for the Family Gateway program to provide housing and job training to homeless families.

• Guaranty Federal Bank presented a grant of $365,487 to Eban Village, an apartment complex that provides affordable housing, and the site of the HUD For A Day luncheon. Guaranty Federal earlier provided $360,000 in loans to the development, and HUD provided $440,000 in loan guarantees to Eban Village last year.

• The Enterprise Foundation said it will administer a new $50,000 program funded by Wells Fargo to provide grants of $1,000 each to 50 low-income homebuyers in Dallas. In addition, Consumer Credit Counseling Services will provide free counseling services to the new homeowners.

After the HUD team attended the morning forum, the Department officials split up and spent the day visiting housing, businesses, and other locations around Dallas with their local counterparts.

The visit to Dallas is the third in a series of such trips that Cuomo and the top leadership of HUD are making to cities around the country. Earlier HUD For A Day sessions were held in Baltimore and Kansas City, MO.