Federal Involvement in Real Estate: A Call for Action
Download Federal Involvement in Real Estate: A Call for Action, including the report’s full recommendations with all figures and appendices.
Author: Administrator
Senate votes to fund Partnership for Sustainable Communities, both bills go to full committee
As Congress negotiates the federal budget for the coming fiscal year, where do community development programs stand?
As of today, subcommittees in both the House and Senate have come out with their proposals for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) funding for fiscal year 2014.
Video: Senator Inhofe on why he supports the BUILD Act of 2013
Smart Growth America’s National Brownfields Coalition hosted a breakfast at the 2013 Brownfields Conference that brought together more than 120 members and guests working on federal brownfields issues.
To open the event, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) welcomed guests with a video message about the importance of brownfields redevelopment and its success across the country. Senator Inhofe is a lead sponsor of the BUILD Act, a bill in Congress that would help communities turn abandoned land back into vibrant spaces by reauthorizing the federal Brownfields program.
Now Available: What the BUILD Act could build webinar archive
711 Canal Street in Stamford, CT. Image courtesy of Pullman & Comley Attorneys Thank you to everyone who attending SGA’s National Brownfields Coalition’s webinar What the BUILD Act Could Build on Wednesday, May 8th, 2013. On the webinar, we discussed the legislation introduced in March by Senators Lautenberg (D-NJ), Inhofe (R-OK), Crapo (R-ID), and Udall (D-NM), changes to … Continued
Building Better Budgets
Building Better Budgets: A National Examination of the Fiscal Benefits of Smart Growth Development surveys 17 studies that compare different development scenarios, including a brand-new study of Nashville-Davidson County, TN, commissioned specifically for this report.
Partnership in the News: Reinvent PHX aims for walkability
Pheonix began to see its future a little differently in 2008, when the city began operating a 29-mile light rail line with 28 stations. To take advantage of this new infrastructure, Phoenix focused the city’s growth and giving its residents with what they wanted: more housing and transportation choices.
Join us for a webinar: What the BUILD Act could build
Harrison Commons in Harrison, NJ. Last month, Senators Lautenberg (D-NJ), Inhofe (R-OK), Crapo (R-ID), and Udall (D-NM) introduced the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development (BUILD) Act of 2013. The legislation would reauthorize EPA’s Brownfields Program, as well as expand non-profit eligibility to receive brownfields grants and allow the EPA to award flexible multipurpose grants … Continued
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2012
In 2012 nearly 130 communities adopted Complete Streets policies. These laws, resolutions, executive orders, policies and planning and design documents encourage and provide safe access to destinations for everyone, regardless of age, ability, income, ethnicity or how they travel. In total, 488 Complete Streets policies are now in place nationwide, at all levels of government. Statewide policies are in place in 27 states as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Forty-two regional planning organizations, 38 counties and 379 municipalities in 48 states, that allow everyone, no matter how they travel, to safely use the roadway. The policies passed in 2012 comprise more than one quarter of all policies in place today.
Michigan legislature proposes improvements to Brownfields TIF program
The former Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is being rennovated to become a home for the Neighborhood Service Organization and 155 housing units for homeless individuals. The project is made possible by federal and state historic tax credits, federal brownfields tax credits and a 10-year tax abatement from the City of Detroit. Photo copyright by Michael G. Smith. Used with permission.
New legislation moving through the Michigan State Senate could make it easier for developers to clean up and rebuild on brownfields in the state.
Michigan’s Senate Bill 1210, an amendment to the state’s Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act (Act 381), is likely to see significant changes this year. If enacted, the bill would promote urban development throughout the state, reduce regulatory requirements, streamline the approval process. Here’s an overview of how.
Washington Update: FY 2012 funding extended into 2013, sequestration looms at the end of the year
In anticipation of the upcoming election season, Congress has passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend federal spending until March 27, 2013.
Leaders in both chambers have pushed for the passage a CR in order to avoid a government shutdown so close to the November election. Funding for the current federal programs, which was scheduled to expire at the end of September, will remain unchanged until March at which point Congress will revisit budget negotiations. The resolution passed the House with overwhelming support on September 13. The Senate deliberated the measure, and eventually passed the resolution, 62-30. President Obama signed the CR late last week.