The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded nearly $1.8 billion to public housing authorities (PHAs) to make large-scale improvements to the 1.1 million public housing units in the country.
The grants, which are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, will help 3,100 PHAs, located in every state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, preserve and update the nation’s public housing stock.
“This funding is critically important to public housing agencies as they work to provide the best housing possible for their residents,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “While the funding we announce today will never be enough to meet the tremendous backlog of capital needs, HUD will be working closely with the Congress to expand efforts to generate approximately $6 billion in private investment for the recapitalization of public housing.”
According to HUD, the nation continues to lose about 10,000 units of public housing annually, primarily due to disrepair, and its 2011 capital needs report found that the nation’s public housing units require an estimated $25.6 billion in large-scale repairs.
