Down-payment and rehabilitation assistance; mixed-used housing assistance, and stalled and vacant site development

Grant Amount: $20,059,466

Local Amount: $20,059,466

Grant Description: On 1/14/2010, HPD was awarded $20,059,466 in NSP2 funds to be used in 95 census tracts in New York City (NYC). These census tracts qualify as having a high risk of foreclosure using the HUD methodology. In order to target our efforts, maximize the potential impact of our activities, and stabilize communities, HPD analyzed census tracts in NYC to identify explicitly where foreclosures and vacancies are located at present. Over the last few years, the number of homes at risk of foreclosure in New York City has increased dramatically due to a combination of factors that include: the volume of high cost loans, which result in higher levels of financial risk; a tightening of credit available to homeowners; and a decline in property values. Moreover, New York City's foreclosure risk is concentrated in specific neighborhoods. This concentration means particular geographic areas and lower income populations are disproportionately at risk of neighborhood instability, reversing gains in homeownership achieved through unsustainable tools such as high cost loan products. Based on HPD's analysis, our NSP2 activities seek to arrest the negative impacts of foreclosure and vacancy of homes, residential and mixed-use buildings, and other properties. The application addresses (1) areas with an existing or expected supply of foreclosed properties available for purchase and (2) areas with vacant properties that have languished without the funding necessary for redevelopment or sale to bring these properties back into productive use. Specifically, our programs include: down-payment and rehabilitation assistance; mixed-used housing assistance, and stalled and vacant site development in the New York City target geography.

Project Description: HPDs program consists of three major components. The first and largest initiative will be a homebuyer assistance program that will help homebuyers with down payments, closing costs, and rehabilitation costs on foreclosed homes in eligible census tracts. The second program aims to help with mixed use housing assistance to help aspiring business owners. Finally, the last program will focus on the development of vacant land or sites, including low income housing. HPD?s plan is narrowly targeted, working specifically in those areas where NSP funds are likely to create a point where need meets demand areas where there is a high inventory, a clear call for intervention toward neighborhood improvement, and a significant opportunity to expand affordable homeownership opportunities. Current status: Within the next week, NYC HPD will issue a NOFA inviting applicants to submit proposals that can help vacant foreclosed and abandoned properties transition to affordable housing, as specified by program 1 above. Specifically, HPD will partner with local organizations to carry out one our proposed programs uses--down-payment and rehabilitation assistance to individual buyers of foreclosed or abandoned properties, as well as other uses different than a typical affordable homeownership model (e.g. rent-to-own, employer-assisted housing, etc.).

Job Creation: No jobs have been created yet.