BOSTON — Rhode Island public housing authorities have received more than $11.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund large-scale improvements in public housing units, the department’s New England regional office announced Thursday.
The funds were awarded by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
“Housing authorities in Rhode Island count on this funding to maintain and improve their public housing for many families, especially the most vulnerable — our seniors,” Barbara Fields, New England regional administrator for Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement.
“HUD is currently taking bold steps to preserve this affordable housing,” said Fields.
The federal department provided these grants through its Capital Fund Program, which annually awards funding “to all public housing authorities to build, repair, renovate and/or modernize the public housing in their communities,” the New England Regional Office said in a release.
Authorities use the funding to perform large-scale improvements to public housing, such as new roofs and energy-efficient upgrades for plumbing and electrical systems. Funds from the Capital Fund Program may also go toward management improvements at the public housing authorities, according to the release.
HUD provides Capital Fund grants to about 3,100 public housing agencies across the country using a formula that considers number, type and age of units in a community, according to the release.
The largest grant in Rhode Island went to Housing Authority Providence, which will receive more than $3.2 million. Smaller grants to the Ocean State ranged from $28,288 for Jamestown to $1.8 million for Woonsocket.
The full listing of housing authority grant amounts in Rhode Island is below.
Bristol Housing Authority:
$189,744
Burrillville Housing Authority:
$83,888
Central Falls Housing Authority:
$341,939
Coventry Housing Authority:
$214,661
Cranston Housing Authority:
$568,618
Cumberland Housing Authority:
$151,910
East Greenwich Housing Authority:
$33,156
East Providence Housing Authority:
$389,590
Housing Authority of the City of Pawtucket:
$1,175,821
Housing Authority Providence:
$3,228,877
Jamestown Housing Authority:
$28,288
Johnston Housing Authority:
$172,104
Lincoln Housing Authority:
$280,988
Narragansett Housing Authority:
$13,758
North Providence Housing Authority:
$126,526
Portsmouth Housing Authority:
$38,253
Smithfield Housing Authority:
$51,630
South Kingstown Housing Authority:
$102,250
The Housing Authority of the City of Newport:
$1,691,595
Tiverton Housing Authority:
$42,161
Warren Housing Authority:
$142,325
Warwick Housing Authority:
$494,760
West Warwick Housing Authority:
$207,116
Westerly Housing Authority:
$130,991
Woonsocket Housing Authority:
$1,823,349
Rhode Island Total:
$11,724,298