HUD Awards $160.1 Million in Section 202 Funding

Twenty-five nonprofits have been awarded $160.1 million to support the development of new or redeveloped properties for low-income seniors.

The grants are being provided under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program. The funds will help to facilitate the construction and operation of 1,262 new deeply rent-assisted units for low- and very low-income seniors. Several grantees will create mixed-income communities, building 526 additional affordable and market-rate units as part of these funded projects for a total of 1,788 homes.

“HUD is committed to addressing homelessness with urgency and ensuring everyone, including our nation’s seniors, has access to quality affordable housing,” said HUD secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The funding announced today shows the Biden-Harris administration is investing in Americans at every stage in life, working tirelessly to do everything we can to make sure older adults have the resources they need to stay housed and safe, especially as we witness a troubling rise in homelessness among seniors.”

Section 202 grants provide low-income elderly persons 62 or older with the opportunity to live independently in an environment that provides necessary services to meet their unique needs. HUD provides these funds to nonprofit organizations in two forms:

• Capital Advances: This funding covers the cost of developing, acquiring, or rehabilitating the housing. Repayment is not required as long as the housing remains available for occupancy by very low-income elderly persons for at least 40 years; and

• Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRAC): This renewable project-based funding covers the difference between residents’ contributions toward rent and the cost of operating the project.

“HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, unique for its focus on older adults and a demonstrated success in ensuring positive outcomes, is a program we fought hard to revive,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “We’re thrilled that these funds are being distributed and proud to support our members around the country who serve low-income older adults in affordable housing communities.”

Funding for the program recently came back after a long period when no awards were made under Section 202, according to officials.

LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including affordable housing for low-income older adults, noted that 11 of the 25 recipients are LeadingAge members.

The organizations will use the funding to provide critical housing and services.

“Christian Church Homes (CCH) is very proud of HUD’s award of $8.2 million for our 201-unit Memphis project,” said Gail Gilman, CCH president and CEO. “This award, in partnership with a local Memphis church, means that CCH can build new units in an area that has too few affordable senior units, and where less than half of the very low-income senior population gets a rental subsidy of any kind.”

In Boston, 2Life Communities received a $7.6 million award to help to create 127 affordable supportive apartments in the Mattapan neighborhood.

“Together with 2Life's signature village center, the ground floor of Brooke House will have a day care center with intergenerational programming opportunities and a satellite space for the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center to provide on-site health services,” said Lizbeth Heyer, vice president and acting CEO. “This amazing federal support will be the wind beneath the wings of Life's effort to secure the remaining funds needed so that 100% of the apartments can support low-income seniors, a tremendous and growing need among older adults across the country.”

The award recipients are: