HUD Speeds up Award Process

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new streamlined funding process.

HUD said it will announce funding notices on a program-by-program basis, a move that will speed up the application process for awarding grants. Prospective grantees have had to otherwise wait for the publication of HUD’s comprehensive funding notice.

"This new process is intended to make certain HUD grants are awarded in a much more timely and efficient manner," said HUD Secretary Steve Preston. "Today, we are removing a bottleneck in the flow of critically needed funding to our applicant community and thereby accelerating the process of putting our grants to work more quickly."


Additional details and an anticipated schedule for release of fiscal 2009 notices are available at www.hud.gov.

Key Funds Suspended for California Projects

Affordable housing projects in California are in jeopardy of being delayed or halted after key state financing has been put on hold.

Developers were slapped with the news when the obscure Pooled Money Investment Board (PMIB) voted to defer all bond expenditures from the Pooled Money Investment Account (PMIA) until the state’s budget deficit is resolved.

Road and school construction projects are also threatened.

For affordable housing developers, the action means possible delays in funding from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

“Until the PMIB begins loaning money again, HCD will have to temporarily suspend Notices of Funding Availability,” said HCD officials in a Dec. 18 memo to program participants.

This means that the Infill Incentives Grant Program, Transit Oriented Development Program, Multifamily Housing Program, CalHome Project, and other bond-funded housing program are temporarily suspended. Voters in California approved Proposition 1C, a $2.85 billion housing bond in 2006.

HCD said it does not expect that prior commitments and awards that have been made will be in jeopardy.

While closing this year appear likely to move forward, next year’s closing may be more precarious, says Housing California, a statewide affordable housing group.

The PMIA provides loans to bond-funded infrastructures projects and to the state general fund to help meet cash-flow needs. State budget problems have placed unprecedented demands on the account to loan the general fund money, according to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who chairs the PMIB.

“Normally, the money the PMIA lends to infrastructure projects gets replenished when the state sells bonds,” said Lockyer’s office. “Unfortunately, the credit crunch and the state budget woes have combined to close the bond market to California.”
Lockyer says the state will not be able to sell bonds until the state comes up with a budget resolution.

Obama Picks N.Y.'s Donovan for HUD

New York City Housing Commissioner Shaun Donovan is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

If confirmed by the Senate, Donovan would take over HUD at a critical time as foreclosures mount, public housing authorities struggle to balance their budgets, and affordable housing production falls.

The Harvard-educated architect will bring "fresh thinking" to HUD, said Obama.

"We cannot keep throwing money at the problem, hoping for a different result," Obama said in announcing his choice. "We need to approach the old challenge of affordable housing with new energy, new ideas, and a new, efficient style of leadership. We need to understand that the old ways of looking at our cities just won’t do. That means promoting cities as the backbone of regional growth by not only solving the problems in our cities, but seizing the opportunities in our growing suburbs, exurbs, and metropolitan areas. No one knows this better than the outstanding public servant I am announcing today as our next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development -- Shaun Donovan."

Donovan brings the street credentials that many in the housing industry wanted. Donovan, 42, is a former HUD official, so he knows the federal agency. He is also credited with bringing efficiency to New York City's housing department.

He has been leading the city's $7.5-billion effort to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing.

Donovan was the featured speaker at this magazine's annual conference, AHF Live, a few years ago when he outlined his agency's efforts.

The HUD secretary watch continues...

President-elect Obama has been busy filling his cabinet, but he has yet to announce his choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

That hasn't stopped people from speculating on who may become the nation's next housing chief. We've heard a couple of mayors mentioned, including Manuel Diaz of Miami and Shirley Franklin of Atlanta.

A Dec. 3 Associated Press also mentions three people very familiar to the affordable housing industry: Renee Glover, head of the Atlanta Housing Authority; Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies; and Bart Harvey, former chairman of Enterprise.

Harvey was inducted into Affordable Housing Finance magazine's Hall of Fame in 2006, and when the magazine put forth a list of possible HUD chiefs earlier this year, Harvey was the top vote-getter in an online poll.

Retsinas was inducted into the Hall of Fame in November.

UPDATE: And, as one blog reader just noted, Nelson Diaz, former HUD general counsel, has been mentioned as a possible candidate.
And, let's not forget Saul Ramirez Jr., who heads up the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and has HUD experience.