COLUMBUS, Ind.–The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $2.6 billion in annual funding grants to housing authorities throughout the country. The Columbus Housing Authority will receive about $318,000.
The endowments, announced earlier this week, are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers monies to approximately 3,100 public housing authorities nationwide to build, repair, renovate and/or modernize their facilities by completing large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades.
To help guide funding that will meet the demands of residents for decent, affordable rental housing, HUD uses the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) strategy that complements the Capital Fund Program. RAD offers a long-term solution to upgrade the country’s affordable housing stock, including sourcing public and private funding to make critically needed improvements.
Since November 2011, more than 88,000 public housing units have converted to a more sustainable financing platform, all without any additional costs to taxpayers. Public Housing Authorities and their partners have also generated over $5 billion to preserve or replace distressed units and support local jobs in their communities.