Federal Grants Help Improve Housing, Other Opportunities for Low-to-Moderate Income Residents

By Office of Communication

Posted on April 27, 2016, April 27, 2016

Thanks to $4.6 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, more dreams will be realized in Arlington for low-to-moderate income residents.

The Arlington City Council voted Tuesday to approve the proposed Program Year 2016 Action Plan.

Subject to HUD's approval, the Program Year 2016 Action Plan describes how the City of Arlington intends to use funds available under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs to increase opportunities and impact the lives of its residents.

The Action Plan priorities include activities addressing affordable and decent housing, homelessness, special needs, infrastructure improvements, neighborhood development, community development, and public services.

Federal funds are administered by the Community Development and Planning Department's Strategic Planning Division. The grants help meet priority community needs as well as continue City Council priorities.

"These grants make a big impact in our neighborhoods and help families access education, employment, and housing opportunities. We look forward to sharing success stories from many of these programs in the coming year," Grants Manager Sheryl Kenny said.

The City will implement Action Plan in a coordinated effort with neighborhood groups, private sector contractors, developers, non-profit organizations, City departments and regional planning groups.

How the money would be allocated

The Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG) will use $2,509,842 towards housing rehabilitation, code compliance, and infrastructure improvements along New York Corridor, Phase II and public services.

• The City's Housing Rehabilitation Program provides repairs to ensure decent, safe housing for Arlington residents, and to preserve and improve neighborhoods. Approximately 70 low- to moderate-income Arlington residents will benefit from the program.
• Low- to moderate-income persons benefit from two full-time Code Compliance officers in the Central Arlington Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) to ensure quality of life by neighborhood outreach, crime prevention efforts, removal of blighted properties, including demolition of structures and clean-up efforts. Approximately 1,000 Arlington households will benefit from this service.
• $1,154,060 in CDBG funds will be used for streetscape improvements on New York Avenue from Abram to Park Row (phase I) and Park Row to Arkansas (phase II). Funds will also be used for pedestrian amenities along the corridor, including lighting, landscaping, trash receptacles, benches, pavers, pedestrian traffic signals, and accessibility features. Approximately 6,000 Arlington residents will benefit from these improvements.

Other uses for CDBG funding include $439,304 for public services provided through 23 non-profit organizations and five city departments to assist more than 13,000 Arlington residents with services such as adult literacy, child care, senior services, health services, transportation, homeless and special needs and youth services. An additional $62,000 will be provided to a local Community Based Development Organization to provide adult literacy, GED preparation, job readiness, and food pantry services.

The HOME Investment partnership grant will use approximately $1,218,173 to fund affordable housing opportunities, rehabilitation, first-time homebuyer and tenant based rental assistance.

• The City's Housing Rehabilitation Program, operated by the Housing Authority, provides repairs to ensure decent, safe housing for Arlington residents, and to preserve and improve neighborhoods.
• The City of Arlington Homebuyer's Assistance Program provides down payment and closing cost assistance to income-eligible individuals seeking to purchase a home. Twenty Arlington households are expected to receive down payment and closing cost assistance.
• The Arlington Housing Authority administers the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program which provides temporary rental housing assistance, up to 24 months, to homeless individuals and other very low-income families. Forty Arlington households are expected to receive temporary rental assistance.

The HOME grant will also fund $275,651 for affordable housing projects through the use of two non-profit Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). Six Arlington households will benefit from increased homeownership opportunities.

The Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) assists individuals to regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness. The ESG grant provides$157,000 to local homeless shelters and an additional $82,615 to fund rapid-rehousing.

Emergency Solutions Grant details:

• The Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) will assist approximately 1,500 individuals with homeless shelter care and 15 households with rapid rehousing.

The public may view the entire 2016 Action Plan Summary and prior year performance on the city's website located at http://www.arlington-tx.gov/pds/grants/planningandreporting/con-plans-action-plans-capers/

The Action Plan Summary is available at local libraries and the City Secretary's Office.