FY2014-15 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants Competition Finalists Identified

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has identified nine applicants as finalists to compete for 2014/15 Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants to transform public and/or other HUD-assisted housing, as well as the surrounding neighborhood.

The entities below, selected from a pool of 33 applicants, will compete for individual grants of up to $30 million.

Building on the successes of HUD's HOPE VI Program, Choice Neighborhoods helps communities transform neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing and by and leveraging and investing in well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, crime prevention strategies, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

The nine finalists completed a comprehensive local planning process and developed a Transformation Plan to redevelop their target neighborhoods. In the coming weeks, HUD 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 HUD 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: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood;
• People: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth with services and supports delivered to youth and their families; and
• Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families' choices about their community.

Finalists were determined based upon information submitted to HUD by the application deadline of February 9, 2015. HUD screened each application for key eligibility criteria, threshold criteria, and responses to rating factors identified in the Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA). HUD anticipates announcing awards in September, 2015.

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