HUD to give $13.2M to 4 R.I. cities

WASHINGTON – The cities of Providence, Cranston, Warwick and Woonsocket will receive more than $13 million in affordable-housing aid from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.
The money will be provided through five HUD programs: the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), to rehabilitate public buildings, provide low-cost loans and aid neighborhood and senior centers; the Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME), to help rehabilitate housing and create new affordable housing; the Emergency Shelter Program (ESG); the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI); and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOWPA).
Cranston is slated to receive about $1.09 million and Warwick $902,000 in CDBG funds. Woonsocket is to receive $1.36 million in CDBG, $541,000 in HOME and $58,500 in ESG money. Providence is to receive $5.74 million in CDBG, $2.51 million in HOME, $773,000 in HOPWA, $247,000 in ESG and $37,000 in ADDI funds.
“These federal dollars will go a long way to help ensure that some of Rhode Island’s largest communities are able to provide quality affordable housing to more working families and seniors,” Reed said in a statement. A member of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees federal housing policy, he is a longtime advocate of affordable housing.
Additional information is available at reed.senate.gov.