U.S. Housing and Urban Development announced $6.9 million in annual funding has been awarded to public housing authorities in Delaware. The funding will allow agencies to make capital improvements to their properties.
Nationally, $2.7 billion has been awarded to public housing authorities (PHA) in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The grants are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to approximately 2,900 public housing authorities to build, repair, renovate, and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. Housing authorities use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.
“As I tour public housing properties throughout the region, I see the overwhelming need for improvements that are well beyond routine maintenance,” said HUD Mid-Atlantic Director Joseph DeFelice. “While HUD’s capital funds will help, public-private partnerships are the key to leveraging capital that will have a meaningful and lasting impact—one that will truly revitalize communities.”
HUD uses the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), a strategy that complements the Capital Fund Program. RAD works to preserve and enhance the country’s affordable housing stock, including leveraging public and private funding to make critically needed improvements.
|
FY 2020 Capital Fund Allocations in Delaware |
Amount |
|
Delaware State Housing Authority |
$ 1,035,886 |
|
Dover Housing Authority |
$ 741,584 |
|
Newark Housing Authority |
$ 297,310 |
|
Wilmington Housing Authority |
$ 4,826,369 |
|
TOTAL |
$ 6.901,149 |
In 2011, HUD released Capital Needs in the Public Housing Program, a third-party independent study that estimated the capital needs in the public housing stock in the U.S. The study found the nation’s then-1.1 million public housing units were facing an estimated $25.6 billion.
Congress authorized the RAD demonstration in November of 2011, early results show it is generating significant additional capital for distressed public housing. As a result, 130,000 public housing units have converted to a more sustainable Section 8 financing platform, all without any additional costs to taxpayers. Public housing authorities and their partners have generated over $8.6 billion to preserve or replace distressed units and support local jobs in their communities – all without additional federal resources, a release stated.
