The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has allocated $144.5 million to fund a series of activities supporting housing assistance and availability. Recipients selected to receive funding primarily live in rural and small communities across that state that are often overlooked.
The funds will be sourced from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program — a federal program providing states with federal support to address critical housing challenges and deploy long-term housing systems. Activities receiving awards will build new multifamily homes, offer first-time homebuyer opportunities and provide rental assistance to nearly 1,000 households.
There are two activities that HOME will support with its recent investment: HOME Project Activities and HOME Program Activities. Project Activities typically provide grants that focus on either building rental and homeownership housing or rehabilitating existing housing. Program Activities prioritize housing assistance programs to help homeowners pay rent, repair homes or buy their first home.
Out of the amount awarded to HCD, $134.5 million will be advance housing construction projects across 13 counties. The state anticipates that approximately 643 houses will be built due to the influx of federal funding. The residences will primarily be multifamily structures.
HOME has provided another $10.5 million enabling 12 counties to render assistance to 341 households. Recipients will be able to use these funds to cover rent, buy houses as first-time homebuyers and make repairs to existing homes.
Notably, applications indicated a vested, overwhelming interest in housing construction projects, resulting in 47 applicants requesting $422 million in state support. By comparison, only $37 million was requested for Program Activities. Because these programs were undersubscribed, HOME reallocated all remaining funding to support Multi-Family Project Activities.
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