At a press conference on Friday morning the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced 17 planning grants under HUD's new Choice Neighborhood Initiative.  The awards range from $167,000 to $250,000 and will go to groups composed of local governments, non-profits, for-profit developers and philanthropists.

Choice Neighborhoods is designed to provide support for the preservation and rehabilitation of public and HUD-assisted housing by linking housing improvements with a wider variety of public services including schools, public transit and employment opportunities.  In addition six finalists have been selected to compete for approximately $61 million in Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants.

HUD received 119 submissions for Planning Grants and 42 submissions for Implementation Grants.  Successful Planning Grant applicants demonstrated their intent to transform neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing while leveraging investments to create high-quality public schools, outstanding education and early learning programs, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs and well-functioning services.  HUD focused on directing resources to address three core goals - housing, people and neighborhoods. 

White House Director of Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes told reporters that Choice Neighborhoods is at the heart of the Obama Administrations Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative which acknowledges that improving housing cannot be done in isolation.  It envisions turning neighborhoods into places of opportunity by linking excellent schools with housing, jobs, transportation, arts and culture and parks and recreation. 

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said that, "Millions of children live in neighborhoods of poverty and that fact determines their outcomes in health and education.  We can actually project a child's life expectancy by their Zip Code."  It follows, he said, that there can be no greater economic policy than one that helps children.

Arnie Duncan, Secretary of the Department of Education said that two of the 17 grantees, in Atlanta and San Antonio, are also receiving Promise Grants from his Department.  The two were among 21 groups which received DOE planning grants last year and are now moving into an implementation phase.  Duncan said that we must educate ourselves to a better economy and the true path to improving our schools is a partnership between business, government, and the schools.

A list of the 17 grants recipients and a description of their proposed projects is located HERE