HUD awards $151M to improve, preserve federal public housing in P.R.
The Puerto Rico Housing Authority will use funding to modernize housing for families, seniors, including large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the allocation of $151.5 million in annual funding to the housing authority in Puerto to help make needed capital improvements to the agency’s properties.
The grants are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to approximately 3,100 public housing authorities to build, repair, renovate and/or modernize the public housing in their communities.
The money has been assigned to the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration, which may use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.
To help provide residents with decent, safe and sanitary housing and respond to the growing demand for affordable rental housing, HUD uses the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD,) a comprehensive strategy that complements the Capital Fund Program.
RAD offers a long-term solution to preserve and enhance the country’s affordable housing stock, including leveraging public and private funding to make critically needed improvements.
For more than 75 years, the federal government has been investing billions of dollars in developing and maintaining public housing, including providing critical support through the Capital Fund grants announced today.
Nonetheless, there has been a net loss of more than 135,000 public housing units since fiscal year 2000, representing an average loss of approximately 9,000 units annually, HUD confirmed.
