HUD Archives: News Releases

MARTINEZ AND NORTHUP BREAK GROUND FOR $46.5 MILLION HOMEOWNERSHIP PHASE OF LOUISVILLE'S HOPE VI DEVELOPMENT
Public-Private Revitalization Project Will Result in 300 New Homes

WASHINGTON, DC - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez and Congresswoman Anne Northup today were part of a groundbreaking ceremony for 300 new homes at the Park DuValle HOPE VI development in Louisville, Kentucky. This phase of the Park DuValle development, totaling $46.5 million, is an example of local, state and federal agencies working with the private sector and non-profit organizations to revitalize this Louisville neighborhood.

"The Bush Administration is committed to increasing the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million by the end of the decade," said HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. "The revitalization of Park DuValle is another step towards that goal and a success story about building lives and providing economic opportunity for Louisville families."

"I am very pleased that Secretary Martinez accepted my invitation to visit Louisville's HOPE VI program at Park DuValle," said Rep. Northup. "One of the most important things we can do to revitalize communities is to encourage homeownership, and HUD's HOPE VI grant is helping many families in Park DuValle to enjoy a better quality of life."

The HOPE VI program is designed to revitalize neighborhoods by turning distressed public housing into thriving new communities. In 1996, the Housing Authority of Louisville (HAL) received $20 million through HUD's HOPE VI Program to revitalize the former Cotter and Lang Homes public housing developments. Upon completion of Park DuValle, the new community will have 1,213 housing units including 613 mixed-finance rental units, 450 homes and 150 off-site public housing units.

The $46.5 million includes $36.9 million in private financing, $5.4 million in HAL funds and $4.2 million in HOPE VI funds.

The HOPE VI program was created as a result of a report by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which found nearly 100,000 public housing units in the U.S. in need of revitalization. The HOPE VI grants, first awarded by HUD in 1993, have five objectives:

• Improve public housing by replacing severely distressed public housing projects, such as high-rises and barracks-style apartments, with townhouses or garden-style apartments that blend aesthetically into the surrounding community.
• Reduce concentrations of poverty by encouraging a mix of incomes among public housing residents and by encouraging working families to move into housing that is part of revitalized communities.
• Provide support services, such as education and training programs, child care services, transportation and counseling to help public housing residents get and keep jobs.
• Establish and enforce high standards of personal and community responsibility through explicit lease requirements.
• Forge partnerships that involve public housing residents, state and local government officials, the private sector, non-profit groups and the community-at-large in planning and implementing new communities.

Since 1993, HUD has awarded 165 grants to 98 cities. The program's $4.55 billion in awards has leveraged more than $8.4 billion in public and private funds.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet.

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Content Archived: April 9, 2010