Washington, D.C.— An additional $1 billion has been awarded to all states and a number of local communities under the third round of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).
The funds will assist the states and communities in acquiring, redeveloping, or demolishing foreclosed properties.
The state of Florida and its local communities received the largest allocation, more than $208 million. The state of California and its local communities were next, receiving nearly $150 million.
“We want to make certain that we target these funds to those places with especially high foreclosure activity so we can help turn the tide in our battle against abandonment and blight,” said Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in a statement.
State and local governments can use their NSP grants to acquire land and property, to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties, and to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to households earning no more than 120 percent of the area median income. The grantees can also create land banks to assemble and dispose of vacant land to stabilize neighborhoods and encourage redevelopment of the property.
HUD will issue a guidance notice in the next few weeks to assist the latest grantees in designing their programs.
The NSP3 awards come on the heels of HUD announcing its new First Look partnership with the National Community Stabilization Trust. The program gives NSP grantees an exclusive 12- to 14-day window to evaluate and bid on properties before others.
For more information, visit www.hud.gov.
