Choice Neighborhoods program offers $65 million for neighborhood revitalization

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will give neighborhoods a boost through a special $65 million initiative.

Choice Neighborhoods has 15 planning grants worth $3 million in total, and 19 implementation grants totaling $62 million. Governments and nonprofits are eligible, and so are for-profit developers who apply jointly with a public entity.

The idea of the Choice Neighborhoods initiative is to transform distressed neighborhoods and public and assisted projects into viable and sustainable mixed-income communities by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs, according to the website. Early childhood education is also a priority.

Nancy Finegood, executive director of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, sees the value in city-nonprofit partnerships. "It would be a wonderful opportunity for any kind of neighborhood project to revitalize the neighborhood and do some restoration of both homes and commercial properties," she says.

Click here to learn more. The deadline is Oct. 26.

Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Nancy Finegood,
executive director, Michigan Historic Preservation Network
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
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