FY2013 NOFA - Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant Competition Finalists Identified

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has identified six applicants as finalists to compete for 2013 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grants to transform public and other HUD-assisted housing in target neighborhoods.

The entities below, selected from a pool of 44 applicants, will compete for individual grants of up to $30 million.

HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative 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 Neighborhoods links housing improvements with necessary services for the people who live there – including schools, public transit and employment opportunities.

The six finalists completed a comprehensive local planning process and developed a Transformation Plan to redevelop their target neighborhoods. In the coming weeks, HUD evaluation teams will visit the targeted housing and neighborhoods to meet with the applicants and partners to get a clear understanding of their individual Transformation Plans. The evaluation team will ensure the applicants are committed and capable of implementing the neighborhood transformation as described in their application. Therefore, being selected as a finalist is not an indication of a grant award.

Site visits are part of HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant application review process to determine which of the finalists are most competitive. Opening the site visits to the public or revealing the location of the targeted housing or neighborhood at this stage is not permitted under the statute governing HUD's process to award competitive grants. Following the visits, HUD may also request that applicants respond to technical clarification questions.

These finalists were ranked on how well their vision addressed Choice Neighborhoods' three core goals:

• Housing: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the long-term;
• People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents' health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and
• Neighborhood: Transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

Finalists were determined based upon information submitted to HUD by the application deadline of September 10, 2013. HUD screened each application for key eligibility criteria, threshold criteria, and responses to rating factors identified in the Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA).

*Note: The process for debriefings with non-selected applicants will not commence until the NOFA cycle has ended.