CUOMO ANNOUNCES $5 MILLION IN HUD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO PALMDALE

LOS ANGELES - Concluding a four-day working visit in Southern California, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced the approval of $5 million in economic development loan guarantees to Palmdale

The funds will be used by the city to establish an economic development loan fund to help finance the rehabilitation of commercial and industrial buildings and to help Palmdale attract much-needed new business development, Cuomo said.

"This loan guarantee will strengthen HUD's partnership with Palmdale as we work toward our common goal of expanding business opportunities in America's cities," Cuomo said. "This is an example of the type of wise investment by the Clinton Administration that is helping communities around the nation."

HUD's Economic Development Loan Guarantee Fund provides communities with a source of financing for job creation, housing rehabilitation, and construction of public facilities and large-scale development projects. The majority of jobs created by each project are available to people with low and moderate incomes.

The loan guarantees, also known as the Section 108 program, save communities money by reducing the interest rate they are charged on loans from commercial lenders. The guarantees also make loans more readily available and often attract other sources of funding from local and state governments, non-profits and the private sector to complete financing for major job creation activities.