HUD Awards $500,000 Planning Grant for Bedford Dwellings & Middle Hill District

PITTSBURGH, PA – June 30, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $500,000 to the City of Pittsburgh, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the Bedford Dwellings community to further stimulate affordable housing and economic development in the Hill District.

The grant, one of 10 awards totaling $8 million funded through HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, will help local leaders to craft a comprehensive, homegrown plan to revitalize and transform this neighborhood.

HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative promotes a comprehensive approach to transforming neighborhoods struggling to address the interconnected challenges of distressed housing, inadequate schools, poor health, high crime, and lack of capital.
“No child should be limited in life by the zip code where they were born,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “Today, we’re kick starting the revitalization in 10 distressed neighborhoods across the country. These grants will lay a firm foundation upon which we’ll build better, more thoughtful neighborhoods that are more connected to all the opportunities their communities have to offer.”

“This planning grant is much needed by the Bedford Dwellings community, and furthermore underscores work we are doing to facilitate growth across the entire Hill District,” Mayor William Peduto said.

“What is great about this planning grant is it allows us to look at redevelopment holistically,” said Pittsburgh City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle. “Not only will we focus on the physical development, but also the educational, economic and social development needs of our community.”

“The Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant is great news for the residents of Bedford Dwellings and the Middle Hill District community,” said HACP Executive Director Caster D. Binion. “The award demonstrates the shared commitment of the HACP, the City of Pittsburgh, HUD and an entire network of community stakeholders toward the Bedford community.”

Choice Neighborhoods is HUD’s signature place-based initiative and its vision builds on the work that has been done by the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, an interagency partnership between HUD, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, and Treasury, since 2009. Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals:

· Housing: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood.

· People: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth with services and supports delivered directly to youth and their families.

· 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.

Through the Choice Neighborhoods planning process local governments, housing authorities, residents, nonprofits, tribal authorities, private developers, school districts, police departments, and other civic organizations create a common vision and develop effective strategies to revitalize their neighborhood. The resulting Transformation Plan and locally driven Action Activities lay the foundation for revitalizing the distressed public and/or assisted housing units, transforming the surrounding neighborhood, and promoting opportunities for families.

Contacts
Timothy McNulty
Communications Manager
City of Pittsburgh
Cell: 412-660-1999
Email

Michelle Sandidge
Chief Community Affairs Officer
Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh
Office: 412-456-505