On September 5, HUD announced that it is awarding $4.8 million in Choice Neighborhood Planning Grants to six communities. The grants, funded through HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods program, will help local leaders craft comprehensive, homegrown plans to revitalize and transform neighborhoods.

Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals: replacing distressed public and assisted housing, improving the outcomes of people living in assisted housing, and creating the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods.

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On September 5, HUD announced that it is awarding $18 million to 20 public housing agencies through their Lead-Based Paint Capital Fund Program. The funds are used to ensure public housing developments that were tested and abated over twenty years ago remain lead-free. In FY 2017, Congress appropriated $25 million to be available for competitive grants to PHAs to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards in public housing. According to HUD, “[w]hile lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, many older homes may still contain hazards that require proper cleanup.” Grants are available for risk assessments, abatement, and interim controls as defined in Section 1004 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. These grants are subject to normal PHA regulations.

A list of PHAs receiving awards can be found in HUD’s press release.