Select areas in Boston; Denver; St. Louis; Louisville, Kentucky; and Camden, New Jersey are set to receive an massive influx of federal funding as the government seeks to revitalize “distressed” neighborhoods by turning dilapidated public housing units into new, mixed-income, mixed-use housing units.
According to an announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the government is granting more than $132 million total to neighborhoods in Boston, Denver, St. Louis, Louisville, and Camden as part of HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.
Through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, the government invests in neighborhoods of “concentrated poverty” by working to replace distressed federally supported housing with sustainable, mixed-income housing that also offer access to transit, better schools and jobs.
“These game-changing investments will breathe new life into distressed neighborhoods and offer real opportunities for the families who call these communities home,” HUD Secretary Julián Castro said Monday. “What we do today will leverage private investment and bear fruit for generations of families looking for an opportunity to thrive in neighborhoods that are connected to the economic and social fabric of their communities.
Here’s how the grants break down:
- The Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver & the City and County of Denver will receive $30 million
- The Louisville Metro Housing Authority & the Louisville Metro Government will receive $29.575 million
- The Boston Housing Authority & the City of Boston will receive $30 million
- The City of St. Louis will receive $29.5 million
- The Housing Authority of the City of Camden & the City of Camden will receive $13,245,927
According to the HUD announcement, the five cities (and/or housing authorities within in each city) will use that money to replace 1,853 severely distressed public housing units with approximately 3,700 new mixed-income, mixed-use housing units.
Additionally, for every dollar that the cities receive from the government, the cities will leverage an additional $5 in public and private funding for their project proposals.
According to HUD, the five awardees are leveraging a combined $636 million through other public/private sources and expect to stimulate another $3.3 billion indirectly.
For much more on where the money is going, click here.
