HUD AWARDS CROWLEY, TALLULAH AND HOUMA $900,000 FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS

NEW ORLEANS- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steven Preston today awarded $16.9 million to 60 rural housing programs across the country to stimulate economic development, create jobs and produce more affordable housing. Included in the funding announced today were grants, in the amount of $300,000 each, to Louisiana Technical College Tallulah Foundation in Tallulah, Seventh District Pavilion Inc in Crowley and START Corporation in Houma.

The funding is provided through HUD's Rural Housing and Economic Development Program.

"HUD is deeply invested in promoting affordable housing and community development throughout rural America," said Preston. "These grants will stimulate the kind of employment, economic growth, and housing development that will have a direct impact on working families in our rural communities."

Rural Housing and Economic Development (RHED) grants help pay for land acquisition, new home construction, housing demolition, infrastructure improvements and construction training. Other possible uses include homeownership and financial counseling; financial assistance to homeowners, businesses and developers; creating microenterprises and small business incubators; and establishing lines of credit or revolving loan pools to benefit the local business community. In addition to the funding announced today, rural communities are expected to generate nearly $59 million from other public and private sources to promote economic development and employment.

Qualified applicants are local rural nonprofit organizations, community development corporations, federally recognized Indian tribes, State housing finance agencies and/or local economic development agencies. RHED grants have provided nearly $223 million, creating/training more than 35,000 jobs, assisting nearly 5,500 businesses and producing 14,000 affordable homes.

Rural communities will use this funding as seed money to pay the start-up costs for housing or economic development projects. These grants will also help organizations to hire and train their staffs, develop strategic plans and acquire office space and other needed facilities.

The Louisiana Technical College Tallulah Foundation in Tallulah will use its $300,000 RHED grant to assist in the construction of six to eight new homes, to substantially rehabilitate low income family homes, and to create new jobs in the Madison and East Carroll parishes, 80 percent of which will be filled by eligible low and very low income residents of the Northeast Louisiana Delta target area.

Partners for this project are Habitat for Humanity of Madison, LISC Mid-South Delta, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, SDA-83 Workforce Investment Board, YouthBuild Delta, the Towns of Lake Providence and Tallulah, the Louisiana Technical College, the Madison Parish Chamber of Commerce, the Madison and East Carroll Parish Police Juries, the Delta Bank, the local school districts, and other local partner agencies and businesses including the Macon Ridge CDC and the Northeast Louisiana Delta CDC. The proposed leveraging for this project is $628,850. Contact: Mason Cox, 318-574-4820.

Seventh District Pavilion, Inc. in Crowley will use its $300,000 RHED grant to provide a revolving loan account that will allow the organization to build homes in a timely manner. The agency proposes to construct 25 homes in 24 months. Partner for this project is the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. The proposed leveraging for this project is $246,532. Contact: Dazetta Thorne, 337-788-3103.

START Corporation in Houma, LA will use its $300,000 RHED grant to assist in the acquisition of three acres of raw land located in Labadieville, Assumption Parish, and for the preparation of the land for 10 single family homes and a HUD 811 project that will include 13 rental units affordable for very low-income disabled persons. Partners for this project are the START Corporation, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, Office of Addictive Disorders, and the Office of Mental Health. The proposed leveraging for this project is $50,094.

Contact: Casey Guidry, 985-879-3966.

Foreclosure protection offered to displaced families in 34 Parishes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today announced a foreclosure moratorium in 34 parishes throughout Southern and Central Louisiana and offered support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following Hurricane Gustav. This foreclosure relief will help families living in presidentially declared disaster areas whose damaged homes are insured through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Last evening, President Bush issued a disaster declaration throughout Louisiana including Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana Parishes.

"Today, we are suspending FHA foreclosure activities throughout Louisiana's hardest hit parishes," said Preston. "This foreclosure moratorium will give families the time they need to figure out how to begin recovery process without having to worry about the prospect of being put out of their homes."

In certain storm and flooded ravaged parishes, HUD is granting a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). In addition, HUD is strongly recommending that loan servicers take such actions as special forbearance, loan modification, refinancing, and waiver of late charges.

A presidential disaster declaration also triggers a variety of federal assistance including grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

With President Bush's disaster declaration, HUD will:

• Offer states the ability to re-allocate existing federal resources toward disaster relief - HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs give the State the flexibility to redirect millions of dollars to address critical needs, including housing and services for tornado victims. HUD will contact State and local officials to explore their needs for streamlining the Department's CDBG and HOME programs in order to expedite the repair and replacement of damaged housing;
• Make mortgage insurance available - HUD's Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and are facing the daunting task of rebuilding or buying another home. Borrowers are eligible for 100 percent financing, including closing costs;
• Make insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation - HUD's Section 203(k) loan program enables those who have lost their homes to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home; and
• Offer Section 108 loan guarantee assistance - HUD will offer state and local governments federally guaranteed loans for housing rehabilitation, economic development and repair of public infrastructure.

As families return to their neighborhoods in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, HUD staff will be ready to help offer critical housing information through HUD's National Housing Locator System (NHLS). This web-based locator combines vacant sales and rental housing data from federal housing resources and three widely used commercial apartment locators. Currently, there are more than 69,000 homes and apartments available in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

For more information about HUD programs designed to assist disaster victims, visit www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/dri/

by Rebecca Mowbray, The Times-Picayune
Thursday May 15, 2008, 10:50 AM

A diverse group of faith-based organizations has raised $4.5 million to create two new disaster relief funds that will help affordable housing projects close financing gaps and help small businesses get back on their feet.

The Isaiah Funds, a project of Catholic, Jewish, Mennonite and Baptist institutions, is believed to be the first national interfaith fund for long-term domestic disaster recovery.

The groups, which have been active in volunteer efforts after Hurricane Katrina, say they recognize that some of the hardest rebuilding work still lies ahead, and providing long-term, low-cost, flexible capital is one of the best ways they can continue to help.

The two funds, one for loans and one for grants, will initially focus on low-income communities on the Gulf Coast. The first set of grants and loans will be announced this morning.

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today awarded the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) a $20 million HOPE VI Revitalization grant to support the redevelopment of the nearly 70-year-old C.J. Peete public housing complex into an attractive mixed-income community.

HANO will use the funding to revitalize the C.J. Peete public housing development. Built nearly 70 years ago, C.J. Peete is comprised of 723 units, all of which will be revitalized. The redevelopment plan includes the historic preservation and renovation of a residential building, as well as the administration building and community center, for use in the revitalized community. More on HUD AWARDS $20 MILLION TO REVITALIZE AGED C.J. PEETE PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN NEW ORLEANS

Mildred Thompson, Director of the PolicyLink Center for Health and Place, is promoting the airing on PBS of a documentary that explores the connection between affordable housing and heath.  She writes:

The timing could not be better for the launch of the landmark PBS documentary Unnatural Causes – Is Inequality Making us Sick?, a four-part series that sheds light on the critical importance of economics, race and class on health outcomes.

The documentary (which I helped advise) skillfully portrays the vast disparities in health and overall quality of life between families with wealth and those clinging to the middle and lower rungs of the economic ladder.

The more money you have, the better your health. This powerful and vital message is at the heart of the series and helped spur the creation of the PolicyLink Center for Health and Place, which I direct.  For more information and viewing times . . .

The Northshore Business Council commisioned an employer survey to gauge the need for more workforce housing.  The employers surveyed confirmed that high housing prices are contributing to serious labor shortages in low-wage jobs.

Of the 187 large and midsized businesses that responded, 71 percent reported that the availability of workforce housing has an impact on them. Nearly two-thirds reported having difficulty attracting qualified job applicants.

More than 25 percent said a significant number of their workers live in neighboring parishes because they cannot afford to live in St. Tammany.

"Workforce housing is essential, and it's about economic prosperity," said Martin Mayer, president and CEO of Stirling Properties and an executive committee member of the Northshore Business Council. "Workers who must commute long distances because they can't afford housing spend excessive time on the road, which is expensive for them and adds congestion to the streets."

But some survey respondents expressed concern that cheaper housing would lead to an increase in crime or slum-like living conditions — comments that proponents see as a misunderstanding of the workforce housing concept.

St Tammany Parish business leaders are moving forward with a plan to build affordable housing for workers such as police officers and nursing assistants who are increasingly priced out of the post-Katrina real estate market.

The plan would establish what is known as a community land trust, with a nonprofit group owning land that it leases to homeowners for a nominal fee.

Prices would be within reach of those who currently cannot afford a home in the parish because the trust would retain title to the land and the buyer would own only the house itself.

Representatives from the Northshore Business Council, a newly formed group led by former Parish Council member Pat Brister and lawyer Howard Daigle, described the plan at a conference Tuesday in Madisonville.

The business council, along with the parish government and the St. Tammany Housing Partnership, soon will commission a feasibility study at an estimated cost of about $30,000, half of which will be financed with grant money from Habitat For Humanity St. Tammany West. The other half will likely come from the parish, which may eventually donate land to the trust.