HUD releases Notice of Funding Availability for Regional Planning Grants and Community Challenge Grants.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today in a press release that HUD will be investing $95 million to support stronger, economically competitive communities through their Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. From the release:

This year’s Regional Planning Grant program will encourage grantees to support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure developments in a manner that empowers regions to consider how all of these factors work together to bring economic competitiveness and revitalization to a community. The program will place a priority on partnerships, including the collaboration of arts and culture, philanthropy, and innovative ideas to the regional planning process. Recognizing that areas are in different stages of sustainability planning.

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DOT announces funding to be available for TIGER program

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that $527 million will be available for the third round of the highly successful TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) competitive grant program. TIGER grants fund innovative transportation projects that create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.

For this round of grants, projects will be selected based on their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, improve energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and improve the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. DOT will also focus on projects that are expected to quickly create and preserve jobs and spur rapid increases in economic activity.

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FTA announces funding available through Bus Livability Program

The Federal Transit Administration has announced up to $150 million of funding available through the Bus Livability Program, which provides money to purchase or replace buses and to build bus-related facilities. The grants are part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communies’ livability funding. From www.grants.gov:

The Bus Livability Program makes funds available to public transportation providers to finance capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, including programs of bus and bus-related projects for assistance to subrecipients that are public agencies, private companies engaged in public transportation, or private non-profit organizations.

The Bus Livability Program will be funded using at least $150 million in available discretionary Bus and Bus Facilities Program funds, authorized by 49 U.S.C. 5309(b) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. L. 109-59, August 10, 2005. FTA may use additional Bus and Bus Facilities funding that becomes available to further support this initiative. The Notice in FR DOC # 2011-16015 includes priorities established by FTA for these discretionary funds, the criteria FTA will use to identify meritorious projects for funding, and describes how to apply.

Places where people have access to affordable housing and different forms of transportation are communities that are economically competitive, and the places where businesses thrive and people want to live. FTA’s livability grants will go a long way toward helping create those communities through jobs, lower transportation costs, and economic development.

For more information about this funding opportunity visit www.grants.gov or www.federalregister.gov.

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Funding available: Choice Neighborhood Initiative Planning Grants

Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants, details of which are now available online, will support the development of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans which will transform communities into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs. The program is focused on directing resources to address three core goals – housing, people and neighborhoods. To achieve these core goals, communities must develop and implement a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. The Transformation Plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing units while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families.

Read the full announcement at Grants.gov >>

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