CITY SEEKS COMMENTS ON PROPOSAL FOR NEIGHBORHHOOD STABIILIZATION FUNDS

Community Development Homepage The City of Knoxville's Community Development Department is developing an application for funding through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Round 2 (NSP2). Funds have been provided for NSP2 through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 to assist in the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes. The application for funding is competitive and due to HUD on July 17, 2009. View or download the draft plan (a PDF document). Those who do not have Internet access may receive a hard copy of the plan by calling 215-2120 during regular business hours. Public comments on the plan are encouraged. All comment must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2009. Approval of the plan is scheduled for Knoxville City Council on Tuesday, July 14. The map that is attached to the draft plan shows the target census tracts which will be the focus of the NSP2 funds if awarded. Those census tracts include 5,6,8,12,13,14,15,17,19,20,21,24,28,29,30,32,34, and 39. Census tracts were chosen based on HUD data indicating the foreclosure risk and vacancy risk for each tract. The NSP2 application requests funds in the amount of $13,800,000 to be spent in the target geography for the following eligible uses: ** Purchase and rehabilitate homes and residential properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon in order to sell, rent or redevelop such properties, $8,800,000. ** Establish and operate land banks for homes and residential properties - $2,500,000. ** Redevelop demolished or vacant properties as housing - $1,500,000. ** Administration of the grant - $1,000,000. Twenty five percent of the total funding must be used to develop abandoned or foreclosed resdential properties to house families with incomes at or below 50% of area median income. Consortium partners include: City of Knoxville Community Development Department, Knoxville's Community Development Corporation (KCDC), Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC), Knoxville Habitat for Humanity (KHFH), Knox Housing Partnership (KHP), Knoxville Area Urban League (KAUL), Helen Ross McNabb Center (HRM), East Tennessee Housing Development Corporation (ETHDC), Neighborhood Housing Inc. (NHI) and Southeastern Housing Foundation (SHF). The City of Knoxville encourages citizen comment on the draft NSP2 plan which will be available on July 3, 2009 online at www.cityofknoxville.org/development or you may receive a hard copy of the plan by calling 215-2120 during regular business hours. Comments will be accepted until July 13, 2009. Citizens may submit their comments to Becky Wade by email at bwade@cityofknoxville.org , or by postal mail to City of Knoxville, Community Development Department, P.O. Box 1631, Knoxville, TN 37901. All comments must be received no later than July 13, 2009.