State to fund housing and economic development in the wake of 2008 storms
WASHINGTON – March 17, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today accepted a $125 million plan to support long-term disaster recovery in Iowa following last year’s series of devastating storms and flooding. Funded through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the Iowa recovery plan seeks to rehabilitate and construct affordable housing, build critical public infrastructure, and support economic revitalization.
“Last year was not terribly kind to the State of Iowa and the process of rebuilding homes and critical infrastructure will be a long one,” said Donovan. “But all Iowans should know that HUD will work with State and local officials to cut red tape where we can and accelerate the pace of recovery as much as humanly possible so Iowa can recover from these devastating storms.”
Iowa plans to use its funding in the following manner:
| Activity | Committed Funding |
| Housing (rehab, etc) | $30,000,000 |
| New Housing Production | $35,282,285 |
| Housing Buyouts (Non-FEMA) | $10,000,000 |
| ED Small Business Stimulus | $5,000,000 |
| Public Facilities (Non-FEMA) | $32,000,000 |
| Lead Training | $750,000 |
| Floodplain Mapping | $5,000,000 |
| Green Building Training | $1,000,000 |
| Administration | $6,264,857 |
| Total | $125,297,142 |
The state intends to use $75.3 million of HUD’s allocation for housing activities which may include: homeowner and rental repair and rehabilitation; new construction of housing; homebuyer assistance, interim mortgage assistance; buyouts and hazard mitigation. By law, Iowa must devote at least $13.3 million for affordable rental housing.
In addition, the State proposes to use $37 million to meet infrastructure and economic development needs. Iowa’s plan will allocate approximately $6,750,000 for other non-housing activities which include recovery case management; contractor and supervisor lead abatement training; floodplain mapping; and the promotion of green building techniques.
History of HUD recovery funding to Iowa
Last fall, HUD allocated $85 million as a “first installment” of disaster recovery funding to Iowa and another $71.7 million to support the State’s recovery from last year’s torrential storms and flooding. In November, HUD allocated another $125 million bringing the Department’s total investment in recovery funding for Iowa to $282 million.
Currently, HUD is completing a year-end analysis of 2008 disaster data to determine needs for nearly $4 billion in additional disaster recovery funding. CDBG funds cannot duplicate assistance provided by other Federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), so the state will need to coordinate their administration of the HUD funding with FEMA’s disaster assistance and mitigation programs to avoid duplication and ensure streamlined delivery to communities in need.
Read the full text of the Iowa Plan
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HUD is the nation’s housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation’s fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov
Contact:
Brian Sullivan
(202) 708-0685