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Hillsborough County Receives HUD Approval For Neighborhood Stabilization

Hillsborough County’s Affordable Housing Office can move forward with their plan to spend the $19 million Neighborhood Stabilization grant it received from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). On Dec. 29, HUD Secretary Steve Preston approved Hillsborough County’s plan to recover from the effects of high foreclosures and declining home values.

“The Affordable Housing Department team worked diligently to complete and submit a strategic Neighborhood Stabilization Program plan to HUD that provides affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income families, as well as sustaining neighborhoods,” said Valmarie Turner, director of Hillsborough County’s Affordable Housing Office. “Through a number of viable partnerships, our primary focus will be to acquire foreclosed or abandoned properties in the targeted areas and place eligible families into affordable housing units.”

Hillsborough County’s plan was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 6, 2008. The target areas for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program include Orient Park, University of South Florida Area and the Palm River/Clair Mel/Progress Village. In addition, after a period of one year following the grant award, the County will consider expanding its targeted areas to include the City of Plant City, Town N’ Country and Gibsonton.

To view Hillsborough County’s full plan, go to www.hillsboroughcounty.org/affordablehousingoffice and click on the “Action Plan FY2008-2009 Amendment.”

HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program was created under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and provides nearly $4 billion to every State and certain local communities experiencing particularly high foreclosure problems and risk of property abandonment. The program permits these state and local governments to purchase foreclosed homes at a discount and to rehabilitate or redevelop them in order to respond to rising foreclosures and falling home values.

State and local governments can use their neighborhood stabilization grants to acquire land and property; to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties; and/or to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers (household incomes not exceed 120 percent of area median income).

In addition, these grantees can create “land banks” to assemble, temporarily manage, and dispose of vacant land for the purpose of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging re-use or redevelopment of urban property.