HOPE VI Main Street

1. HOPE VI Main Street Contact Lawrence Gnessin Office of Public Housing Investments, Washington Lawrence_Gnessin@hud.gov Presented by Shawn M. Sweet Cleveland HUD Office of Public Housing Shawn_Sweet@hud.gov

2. Main Street Authorization • Part of SEC. 24. (of the U.S. Housing Act) • HOPE VI Program Reauthorization and Small Community Main Street Rejuvenation and Housing Act of 2003 • Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 • authorizes the construction, rehabilitation, reconfiguration of non-housing space to make affordable housing

3. Purpose • To provide assistance to smaller communities for the purpose of facilitating the development of affordable housing for low-income families that is undertaken in connection with an existing main street rejuvenation or redevelopment project in such communities.

4. Authority and Use of Grant Amounts • Grant amounts shall be used by smaller communities only to provide assistance to carry out eligible affordable housing activities in connection with an eligible affordable housingproject.

5. Application Eligibility and Process • Must be an official unit of local government • Subdivision of a state, territory (Section 102 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974). • With a population of 50,000 or fewer (Smaller community); and • Have 100 or fewer physical public housing units in its jurisdiction that are administered by a public housing agency for HUD.

6. Application Eligibility and Process (cont’d) • Applications are funded each year via the Notice of Funding Availability (“NOFA”) process • Applications are submitted electronically. Visit HUD’s Grants page, which has links to documents that explain how to register and submit an application through Grants.gov, at http://www.hud.gov/grants/

7. Eligible Project • HUD determines whether the project is an existing, eligible main street project using the Main Street Project criteria; • is carried out within the jurisdiction of smaller community receiving the grant; • involves the development of affordable housing that is located in the commercial area that is the subject of the project.

8. Main Street Project Criteria • has as its purpose the revitalization or redevelopment of a historic or traditional commercial area; • involves investment or other participation by both the government of, and private entities in, that smaller community; and

9. Main Street Project Criteria (cont’d) • complies with historic preservation guidelines set out in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and other preservation requirements as stated in the NOFA to preserve significant historic or traditional architectural and design features in the structures or area involved in the project.

10. Maximum Grant Amount $1,000,000 May Request Less

11. Eligible Activities • New construction, reconfiguration, or rehabilitation of affordable rental and homeownership housing located within the Main Street area; • architectural and engineering work; • tax credit syndication;

12. Eligible Activities (cont’d) • providing moving expenses for residents displaced as a result of the revitalization of the project (per the Uniform Relocation and Real Properties Relocation Act of 1970 (URA); • management improvements necessary for proper development and management of the Main Street project;

13. Eligible Activities (cont’d) • leveraging other resources from any source except other HOPE VI grants, for use in the Main Street rejuvenation effort, including cash and in-kind services such as private loans, infrastructure or construction work, equity from the sale of tax credits, etc.; • necessary supportive services, except that not more than 15 percent of the amount of any grant may be used for activities under this paragraph.

14. Contribution (Match) Requirement • Grantee must supplement the aggregate amount of assistance provided under the Grant with an amount of funds from sources other than HOPE VI funds equal to (not less than) 5 percent of the requested grant amount; and • such match funds must be used ONLY for carrying out eligible affordable housing activities that relate to the Main Street affordable housing project.

15. Match Requirement and Main Street Area Leverage • In calculating the amount of supplemental funds provided by a grantee, the grantee may include amounts from other Federal sources, any State or local government sources; • any private contributions, the value of any donated material or building, the value of any lease on a building, the value of the time and services contributed by volunteers, and

16. Match Requirement and Main Street Area Leverage • the value of any other in-kind services provided.

17. Cost Limits • There are cost limits on eligible activities to provide for effective revitalization programs • Cost limits apply to eligible affordable housing activities assisted with HOPE VI Main Street Grants • Refer to Notice of Funding Availability (“NOFA”), Funding Restrictions

18. Reporting • HUD requires each local government that receives a grant to submit periodic reports and a final audit regarding the use of all amounts provided under the grant.

19. Definitions (cont’d) • Affordable housing. The term `affordable housing' means rental or homeownership dwelling units that: • are made available for INITIAL occupancy to low-income families, with a subset of units made available to very- and extremely-low income families; and

20. Definitions (cont’d) • While affordability use restrictions apply, residents are subject to the same rules regarding occupant contribution toward rent or purchase and terms of rental or purchase as are provided to occupants of public housing units in a HOPE VI (revitalization) development. • HOPE VI allows various rent setting formulas. • Units developed, rehabilitated or reconfigured through this NOFA are NOT and statutorily MUST NOT BE public housing units.

21. Definitions (cont’d) • Smaller community means a unit of general local government (as such term is defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)) that • has a population of 50,000 or fewer; and • Has 100 or less physical public housing units within its jurisdiction.

22. Definitions (cont’d) • Local government means any city, county/parish, town, township, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a state; Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, District of Columbia, and Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or a general purpose political subdivision thereof; or a combination of such political subdivisions that is recognized by the Secretary.

23. Summary • The local government is the official applicant. So, any other organization or property owner has to team with the local govt.; • If the local govt. has 100 or more physical public housing units in its jurisdiction, it is not eligible to apply; • If the local govt. has a population of more than 50,000, it is not eligible to apply;

24. Summary • Of the amount appropriated for the HOPE VI program, for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall provide up to 5 percent for use only for HOPE VI Main Street grants • To ensure that these thresholds are met, HUD measures/counts the amount of leverage that has/is/will come into the Main Street area. Examples of this can be seen in the 2007 NOFA.

25. Summary • The maximum grant amount is limited to $1Million; • Grant funds must be used to create affordable housing through development, rehabilitation or reconfiguration; and • The new units must be affordable only for the first occupant. After that occupant moves out, there are no more HUD use restrictions on that unit. • Local government grantees have the option of extending the affordability period.

26. Summary • The grant can only be given to a city that has an existing Main Street Rejuvenation effort going on, and • There must be both public and private sector support for the Main Street rejuvenation effort.

27. Resources • Go to HUD’s Grants page, which has links to documents that explain how to register and submit an application through Grants.gov, at http://www.hud.gov/grants/

28. Resources • Visit the HOPE VI Main Street page at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/hope6/grants/mainstreet/index.cfm • That web page will lead you to the NOFA and other information about the HOPE VI Main Street requirements.