HUD announces nearly $2.5 million to New York State to help develop housing for very low-income elderly

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2007 – U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced $2,405,391 in Section 202 Demonstration Planning Grant (DPG) funds that will be awarded to nine (9) sponsors that provide supportive housing for elderly projects. The funding to New York State is part of more than $18 million in grants announced nationwide.

“This funding will help many organizations cope with the complexities of developing these important projects and allow them to help more elderly people in their communities,” said Jackson.

These “predevelopment” funds will assist sponsors of these Section 202 Elderly Housing projects in 31 states. The grants will help them bring their projects from the award of a Section 202 grant to initial closing within the allotted 18 months.

The Section 202 DPG Program will provide upfront funds for such predevelopment activities as architectural and engineering work, site control, and other expenses related to the development of the projects prior to initial closing. Without the grant funding, such costs would not be reimbursable until closing or would have to come from other funding sources.

To be eligible for the grants, the activities must otherwise be eligible for funding under the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program. The maximum grant amount per single application is $400,000, however, no more than $800,000 could be awarded to a single sponsor or its affiliated organizations.

Subsequent to providing predevelopment grant funding to the selected applicants, the Department will assess the impact of the availability of such funding on the ability of sponsors to expedite the development processing of Section 202 projects.

2007 Section 202 DPG New York State Grantees