Fiscal Year 2023 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant
The Choice Neighborhoods program leverages significant public and private dollars to support locally driven strategies that address struggling neighborhoods with severely distressed public housing and/or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, and other stakeholders, such as public housing agencies, cities, schools, police, business owners, nonprofits, and private developers, come together to create and implement a plan that revitalizes distressed HUD housing and addresses the challenges in the surrounding neighborhood. To this end, Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals:
- Housing: Replace severely distressed public and HUD-assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood;
- People: Improve outcomes of households living in the target housing related to income and employment, health, and education; and
- Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.
To achieve these core goals, successful applicants must develop a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or “Transformation Plan.” This Transformation Plan becomes the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or HUD-assisted housing units, while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and creating positive outcomes for families.
Experience shows that to successfully develop and implement the Transformation Plan, broad civic engagement is needed. Successful applicants to the NOFO need to work with public and private agencies, organizations (including philanthropic and civic organizations), banks and financial institutions, and individuals to gather and leverage the financial and human capital resources needed to support the sustainability of the plan. These efforts should build community support for and involvement in the development and implementation of the plan. Additionally, past revitalization efforts have demonstrated that even modest physical improvements and investment actions can help communities build momentum for change and transition from planning to implementation of that plan. These actions improve neighborhood confidence, sustain the community’s energy, attract further engagement, and help convince skeptical stakeholders that positive change is possible. Successful applicants should undertake such “doing while planning” projects during the grant period.
Funding of approximately 10,000,000 is available through this NOFO. Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFO consistent with Section VI.A.2.e., Adjustments to Funding. Use of these funds is subject to statutory constraints. All awards are subject to the funding restrictions contained in this NOFO.
Program Office: Public and Indian Housing
Funding Opportunity Title: FY22 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants NOFO
Funding Opportunity Number: FR-6700-N-38
Assistance Listing Number: 14.892
Due Date for Applications: 06/06/23
This program offers HBCU and Promise Zone preference points.
Question regarding this NOFO can be sent to ChoiceNeighborhoods@hud.gov.