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House and Senate Committees Pushing Forward on HOPE VI
Reauthorization
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Orlando Cabrera testified in opposition to the reauthorization at both hearings.
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The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the House Financial Services Committee held hearings on the HOPE VI program, which is set to expire on September 30, 2007. The HOPE VI program provides competitive grants to public housing authorities for the removal, rehabilitation, and construction of public housing units.
The hearings exposed key differences between the House and Senate approaches to reauthorization. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is the sponsor of the Senate reauthorization bill (S. 829), which has bipartisan support from Senator Mel Martinez (RFL). While generally retaining the current HOPE VI requirements, the Senate bill would tie HOPE VI grants to new education goals. In the House, Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-MA) expressed concern that the HOPE VI program is used to tear down more public housing than is rebuilt but expressed confidence that a one-for-one replacement requirement could be achieved. Chairman Frank hopes for a committee vote on a HOPE VI reauthorization bill sometime in July.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Public andIndian Housing Orlando Cabrera testified in opposition to the reauthorization at both hearings.
Housing Authorities Set to Receive an Increase in Section 8 Renewal
Funding
On June 18, HUD notified public housing agencies of their 2007 Housing Choice Voucher renewal funding provided under the Fiscal Year 2007 Continuing Resolution. Public housing agencies will receive a five percent increase, on average, over their program costs in 2006, adjusted for inflation. The increase can be used to serve additional families or to increase services to current families. More funding is available from HUD if a public housing agency can
certify that the FY 2007 funding is insufficient to fund their current vouchers. Information on how to apply for additional funds, if necessary, can be found at: http://www.hud.gov/utilities/intercept.cfm?/offices/pih/publications/notices/07/pih
2007-14.pdf.
Source: National League of Cities
7.16.2007
More News - HOPE VI Reauthorization
HOPE VI Reauthorization
Hearings Examine HOPE VI Reauthorization
SENATE BILL LINKS HOUSING, EDUCATION
Committees in the House and Senate recently held hearings on reauthorization of the HOPE VI program. HOPE VI was created in the early 1990s to help communities replace deteriorated public housing and foster mixed-income neighborhoods. The program's current authorization is set to expire this year.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced Senate legislation, S. 829, to reauthorize the program through 2013. The legislation would create a new requirement that HOPE VI projects partner with local schools to develop a comprehensive educational reform and achievement strategy. The bill, which has bipartisan support, also modifies some selection criteria.
Among those testifying were affordable housing developers Richard Barron and Jonathan Rose. Both lauded the program and pointed to the additional, private sector investment generated by HOPE VI. Researchers from the Urban Institute presented findings on improved safety and quality of life in HOPE VI neighborhoods. Some witnesses expressed concerns about the displacement of residents.
Leaders of the House Financial Services Committee plan to move House legislation later this summer. In the initial hearing on the issue, several members of the House Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), supported the program but said any reauthorization must include guarantees of "one-to-one" replacement for public housing.
7.14.2007
HOPE VI - Enterprise Testifies on HOPE VI Reauthorization
COLUMBIA, Md., Doris Koo, president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, testified today before the House
Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity on enhancements to the federal HOPE VI program.
Congress created the HOPE VI program in 1992 to revitalize severely distressed public housing by leveraging significant private and public
resources to catalyze broader reinvestment in troubled neighborhoods. Since the program's inception, Enterprise has partnered with housing authorities,
city governments, community-based organizations and the private sector on more than 20 comprehensive public housing redevelopment efforts facilitated
by HOPE VI.
"This program has made a significant difference in communities formerly
plagued by concentrations of poverty and lack of access to transportation,
services, and quality schools," Koo stated. "We must ensure that HOPE VI
developments continue to provide residents an opportunity to return to
healthier, more vibrant communities. We strongly support the approach of
linking community revitalization strategies with school reform and
providing wrap-around services to residents before, during, and after any
relocation."
For families with children, choices about housing and education are
intertwined. Poor schools drive families out; strong schools help create
communities of choice. Community and supportive services for public housing
residents are critical components in a successful redevelopment effort, as
these services provide the crucial link between housing and opportunities
for residents to move up and out of poverty into the mainstream of American
life.
Large-scale, catalytic redevelopments like HOPE VI also provide the
best opportunities and rationale for green, sustainable development. Koo
applauded Representative John Olver (D-Mass.), Housing and Community
Opportunity Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), House
Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and their colleagues
for supporting the HOPE VI Green Building and Technical Assistance Act of
2007 (H.R. 2536). This legislation would require that new HOPE VI
developments meet energy-efficiency and environmentally sustainable
criteria for residential and commercial buildings, and would also provide
technical assistance to applicants.
Koo said, "We must think more broadly about long-term sustainability
and how to ensure that communities remain healthy and viable over time.
Low-income families have the most to gain from living in housing that not
only cuts down on their monthly utility bills but is also a healthier place
to live."
Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and
expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild
communities. For more than two decades, Enterprise has pioneered
neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial
institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share
our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested $7 billion in equity, grants
and loans and is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion
a year. Visit http://www.enterprisecommunity.org to learn more about
Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity, and to meet some
of the half a million people we have helped.
Easton, PA HOPE VI Bigger and Better
The Easton Housing Authority voted 3-0 during a special meeting Tuesday to build more rental units and fewer homes for sale as part of its $73 million Delaware Terrace revitalization project.
The authority will demolish 250 units at the South Side neighborhood and build 96 rental units and 48 homes for sale.
The board commissioners -- Chairman the Rev. George Martinez, Paul Felder and Dawn Washington -- also voted to allow Executive Director Gene Pambianchi to begin negotiations with a company chosen to become the authority's developer on the project called HOPE VI.
More HERE
7.13.2007
HOPE VI Land Swap
The Fayette County Housing Authority Thursday approved a land swap with the Uniontown Hospital that is part of area revitalization plans for both entities.
Executive Director Thomas Harkless said plans are to include the land swap information in the next HOPE VI application, as part of the renovation plans for Bierer Wood Acres.
Proposed funding for the $55 million project includes a $20 million federal grant, $22.2 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Equity, $9.4 million from tax-exempt bond debt, $2.75 million from the FCHA capital fund and $888,800 from homebuyer equity and loans.
FCHA administrator Andre Walters said the three buildings on the property involved in the land swap would not be demolished unless the HOPE VI money is approved.
Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said the renovation of Bierer Wood Acres has been discussed and is in motion.
Don Record of the Uniontown Hospital said the hospital is interested in the land where the three buildings sit.
According to a fact sheet, the housing authority project includes demolition of the 86 units of obsolete housing on site, as well as construction of 224 units of new housing, including 165 on-site; three units to be located in homes to be acquired and renovated immediately off-site; and 56 units on an off-site, vacant parcel. Previously, 106 units of the project were demolished, leaving the current 86.
The new Bierer Wood Acres would have 16 homeownership units in duplexes, 66 units of family rental housing in duplexes and triplexes, and 86 units of senior housing, according to a fact sheet.
On another FCHA iniative, following a lengthy discussion, the authority failed to approve a resolution authorizing a capital fund financing loan for the Laurel Estates project at the former Lemon Wood Acres housing project.
The motion, to secure a $3,743,525 loan, failed to obtain a second. Board member James V. Bitonti made the motion and neither Zimmerlink nor Beverly Beal made a second. Board members William "Trip" Radcliffe and Nancy Sutton were absent. Radcliffe arrived late to the meeting, after the vote was taken.
Walters said the tax credits for the project have already been received, and plans are to build 56 public housing units including single family homes and handicapped units, but with primarily duplexes and two triplexes. He said it would be laid out "as a community" instead of the former row houses.
Walters said the FCHA has been working on the project for nearly four years, and more than $8.8 million in tax credits have been received. He said the total project is $13 million, and the annual payment for the 20-year loan will be between $280,000 and $319,000, which will be taken out of the capital fund.
Developer Falbo-Pennrose, who will manage the property for the first three years while FCHA staff is trained, will handle the project.
More HERE
Daytona Beach HOPE VI
HOPE VI project takes shape
DAYTONA BEACH -- Take a close look the next time you drive along International Speedway Boulevard.
Major changes are in the works.
Where once stood a small, deteriorating group of public housing units, construction crews are putting the finishing touches and landscaping on the Villages at Halifax, a new community of apartments and townhomes.
"We've gotten comments even from tourists," said Joyours "Pete" Gamble, chief executive officer of the Housing Authority. "That's what we want. Since that's the main artery into the city, that's something for the city to toot its horn about."
Similar changes are under way on South Street, where a modern town-home community called Lakeside Village will replace a more than 50-year-old public housing project next to a major city park.
Lastly, work is beginning at Pine Haven, a new townhouse community with a swimming pool between George Engram and Mary McLeod Bethune boulevards. The aging barracks-style buildings of the city's oldest public housing project have been cleared to make way for the new project.
In addition to the townhouses, lots are set aside at each site for single-family homes. Construction will depend on sales of lots and model homes.
The transformation culminates eight years of effort by the Daytona Beach Housing Authority to demolish and rebuild public housing in the core of the city under a federal program called HOPE VI -- Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere.
For Housing Authority officials, seeing the new buildings rise is especially sweet. They endured criticism for spending nearly $400,000 over four years starting in 1999 before finally winning $24.6 million in federal grants to get the work going.
"As I look at what's on the ground, I feel very pleased," Gamble said.
More HERE
7.08.2007
Affordable Housing Needs 2005: Report to Congress
Affordable Housing Needs 2005: Report to Congress
(May 2007, 99 pages)
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In 1990, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee directed HUD to "resume the annual compilation of a worst case housing needs survey of the United States... [to estimate] the number of families and individuals whose incomes fall 50 percent below an area's median income, who either pay 50 percent or more of their monthly income for rent, or who live in substandard housing."
Households with "worst case needs" are defined as unassisted renters with very low incomes who have one of two "priority problems" either paying more than half of their income for housing ("severe rent burden") or living in severely substandard housing. Renters are classified by income using three income limits: Low Income (LI) if their income does not exceed 80 percent of area median income (AMI), Very Low Income (VLI) if income is not more than 50 percent of AMI, and Extremely Low Income (ELI) if income is not more than 30 percent of AMI.
This report is the tenth in a series of Worst Case Needs reports to Congress. This 2005 report is organized into five basic sections Chapter 1 provides an introduction, including a discussion of terms and sources. Chapter 2 outlines the findings of worst case needs by various categories such as demographics and geography. Chapter 3 presents an analysis using data from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine the duration of severe rent burdens. Chapter 4 assesses the supply of affordable rental housing. Chapter 5 presents new analysis of how worst case needs relate to neighborhood poverty rates.
Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
7.04.2007
HUD Stop Loss
Under the new Operating Fund rule, PHAs that will experience a decline in funding can have their losses “stopped” by demonstrating a successful conversion to asset management, i.e., “stop-loss.” This website contains information for PHAs regarding Stop-Loss.
 | PIH Notice 2007-16, This notice provides information for public housing agencies (PHAs) that wish to submit documentation of successful conversation to asset management in order to discontinue their reduction in operating subsidy.  |
| | PIH Notice 2006-35, This notice amends PIH notice, PIH 2006-14 (HA), issued, March 22, 2006, to extend the application submission deadline to qualify for the first stop-loss deadline to April 15, 2007. As provided in PIH 2006-14, stop-loss applies only to PHAs that [...] |
| | PIH Notice 2006-14, Operating Fund Program Final Rule: Transition Funding and Guidance on Demonstration of Successful Conversion to Asset Management to Discontinue the Reduction of Operating Subsidy, issued March 22, 2006. |
| | Demonstrating Successful Conversion To Asset Management: A Site Visit to the Charlotte Housing Authority |
| | Stop-Loss Submission Kit |
| | Frequently Asked Questions |
| | Frequently Asked Questions - Stop Loss Extension |
| | Frequently Asked Questions - Fee for Service - This is in response to recently received questions from PHAs that are preparing their Year 1 Stop Loss applications.(Posted: March 16, 2007) |
| | Additional Frequently Asked Questions Related to Stop Loss - Part I - As the deadline for Year One applications for stop loss approaches, PHAs have generated a number of questions. (Posted: March 21, 2007) |
| | Additional Frequently Asked Questions Related to Stop Loss - Part II (Posted: April 3, 2007) |
7.02.2007
About The HOPE VI Program
Overview
The HOPE VI program serves a vital role in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's efforts to transform Public Housing.
The specific elements of public housing transformation that have proven key to HOPE VI include:
- Changing the physical shape of public housing
- Establishing positive incentives for resident self-sufficiency and comprehensive services that empower residents
- Lessening concentrations of poverty by placing public housing in nonpoverty neighborhoods and promoting mixed-income communities
- Forging partnerships with other agencies, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses to leverage support and resources
Eligible Applicants
Any Public Housing Authority that has severely distressed public housing units in its inventory is eligible to apply. Indian Housing Authorities and Public Housing Authorities that only administer the Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) Program are NOT eligible to apply. Individuals are also NOT eligible to apply.
Funding Opportunities
HOPE VI Revitalization grants fund:
- Capital costs of major rehabilitation, new construction and other physical improvements
- Demolition of severely distressed public housing
- Acquisition of sites for off-site construction
- Community and supportive service programs for residents, including those relocated as a result of revitalization efforts
HOPE VI Main Street grants provide assistance to smaller communities in the development of affordable housing that is undertaken in connection with a Main Street revitalization effort.
History and Background
National Commission on Severely Distressed Public HousingThe HOPE VI Program, originally known as the Urban Revitalization Demonstration (URD), was developed as a result of recommendations by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which was charged with proposing a National Action Plan to eradicate severely distressed public housing. The Commission recommended revitalization in three general areas:
- physical improvements,
- management improvements, and
- social and community services to address resident needs.
As a result, HOPE VI was created by the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Pub.L. 102-389), approved on October 6, 1992.
HOPE VI Appropriations and Funding History
FY 2006 Funding Information FY 2005 Funding Information FY 2004 Funding Information FY 2003 Funding Information FY 2002 Funding Information FY 2001 Funding Information FY 2000 Funding Information FY 1997-1999 Grant History HOPE VI Appropriations Program Authority and Funding History
Program Authority
HOPE VI operated solely by congressional appropriation from FY 1993 - 1999. The FY 1999 appropriation included the congressional authorization of HOPE VI as Section 24 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. Section 24 was implemented in the FY 2000 NOFA, and was reauthorized in conjunction with the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003. Grants are governed by each Fiscal Year's Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), as published in the Federal Register, and the Grant Agreement executed between each recipient and HUD.
Grants Awarded
| Awards | Grant FY Totals | Funding |
| 35 | Planning Grants 1993-1995 | $14,752,081 |
| 236 | Revitalization Grants 1993-2006 | $5,828,856,376 |
| 285 | Demolition Grants 1996-2003 | $391,585,505 |
| 45 | Neighborhood Networks 2002-2003 | $9,967,500 |
| 6 | Main Street Grants 2005-2006 | $2,959,509 |
| 607 | Total | $6,248,120,971 |
About Us
Housing Research is private, nonprofit organization based in metro Washington, D.C. (United States). We are concerned with improving America’s public housing through research, education, and technical assistance.
This website and blog concentrates on two public housing issues: ‘the revitalization of severely distressed properties and communities through the HOPE VI program, and the challenge of providing a continuum of supportive housing options for low-income seniors and disabled persons‘.
The site collates detailed information, links to websites, and press cuttings about different aspects of these two issues. In addition, reports and further documents are provided in PDF format (which require the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view).
For further information on Housing Research.org write: Leon “Nathaniel” Rock, CEO HousingResearch.org@GMail.com or contact us by phone at: (202) 204-2700
7.01.2007
Chicago Residents Join Rally to Save Atlanta Public Housing
By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (June 27, 2007)
Photographs by Jonathan Springston, Senior Staff Writer
Organizations represented included the Task Force for the Homeless, ACORN, Women in Transition, Poor People's Human Rights Campaign, and Atlanta public housing resident associations. Tuna sandwiches and orange-colored drink were served for the homeless.
"I heard there's a public housing crisis. I said, oh no, that's where I wanna be. This is public housing people. This is family," Willie JR Fleming, of the Coalition to Protect Public Housing, said.
"This is a clear cut national plan of economic cleansing. In United Nations talk, this is an atrocity, a crime against humanity. This is what we call human rights violations," Fleming said.
"We're here to protect rights of public housing [residents]. We represent ten Housing Associations. We're at risk of being displaced. There's organizations coming in, condos. They said it's [Chicago public housing units are] physically obsolete. We want a structural engineer to come in. They're trying to block her," Lonnie Richardson, of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), in Chicago, said.
Federal Budget Cuts' Impact Public Housing
10 percent of phoenix's public housing units empty.
Thousands of people in Phoenix are waiting for a place to call home
Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Despite the long waiting list, nearly 10 percent of Phoenix's public housing is vacant, with the average unit sitting empty for more than five months before the city's housing staff places a new tenant.
Some 250 units are going unused, costing the city as much as $600,000 a year in lost revenue - revenue that would fund the very operations needed to fill the units more quickly.
The reason, housing officials say, is a staff shortage brought about by budget cuts at the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Two years ago, Phoenix laid off 30 percent of its Housing Department staff. Today, the city lacks the resources to quickly refurbish apartments after they're vacated, officials say, or to process applications in a reasonable amount of time.
Funding shortfalls have required painful cuts across the nation, with housing authorities laying off staff members by the hundreds. But in other cities, vacancy rates remain far lower.
Phoenix maintains 2,473 federally subsidized apartments and homes, and the average unit sits empty for more than 23 weeks. Despite facing similar budget pressures, cities such as Dallas and San Antonio move new tenants into vacated units in as little as three weeks.
Concerned about the department's performance, some Phoenix City Council members are discussing dismantling the Housing Department, either privatizing it or folding it into another city department. More HERE
