HUD AWARDS FIRST-EVER CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS
Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle to share $122 million

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced five cities will receive a combined $122 million to redevelop distressed housing and bring comprehensive neighborhood revitalization to blighted areas. Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle will receive the first-ever Implementation Grants awarded under HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a new strategy and tools to support local leaders in transforming high-poverty, distressed neighborhoods into neighborhoods with healthy, affordable housing, safe streets, and access to quality educational opportunities.

The grants announced today include: 

Read a complete summary of each grant announced today.

"We'll win the future only if we can ensure that people in every community - even those living in our most troubled neighborhoods - have access to the American Dream," said President Barack Obama. "With HUD's Choice Neighborhoods grants, my Administration has brought local communities an innovative new tool to ensure that all families can access the quality affordable housing, safe streets, and good schools they need to compete in the 21st century economy."

"This is a great day for these communities and the countless people who will benefit from the transformation this funding will bring to their neighborhoods," said Donovan, who announced the grants today. "Choice Neighborhoods recognizes that we must link affordable housing with quality education, public transportation, good jobs and safe streets. It is the next generation of neighborhood revitalization that not only transforms distressed housing, but heals entire communities."

"Choice Neighborhoods provides funds to improve the lives of children and families in our most distressed neighborhoods and we're pleased to see their work continue through these implementation grants," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "The White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, which includes our Promise Neighborhoods program together with Choice and other initiatives, has created a cross agency effort that combats poverty by ensuring there are great schools and systems of support at the center of every community."

Choice Neighborhoods (Choice) promotes a comprehensive approach to transforming distressed areas of concentrated poverty into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods. Building on the successes of HUD's HOPE VI Program, Choice links housing improvements with a wide variety of public services and neighborhood improvements to create neighborhoods of opportunity.

These grantees have completed comprehensive local planning processes, and are now implementing plans to redevelop their neighborhoods. They had to demonstrate their ability to revitalize severely distressed public and/or assisted housing while bringing together the partnerships and resources to create high-quality public schools, outstanding education and early learning programs, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs and well-functioning services.

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is a centerpiece of the Obama Administration's interagency Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative - a collaboration between the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education (ED), Justice, Treasury and Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the ability of local leaders from the public and private sectors and attract the private investment needed to transform distressed neighborhoods into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods with the affordable housing, safe streets and good schools every family needs.

As a result of partnerships across those agencies, the Obama Administration has made it easier for local leaders using Choice Neighborhoods to redevelop their neighborhoods to also access support for cradle-to-career educational programs through the Education Department's Promise Neighborhoods, public safety strategies through the Justice Department, and community health center improvements through HHS.

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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 at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDgov, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.