City News

TUSCALOOSA, AL - The deadline for the Pre-Application for Tuscaloosa’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program is this Friday, Feb. 28.

CDBG is a federally funded grant program that provides direct grants to strengthen communities by expanding affordable housing and economic opportunities, and improving communal facilities that will benefit individuals with low or moderate incomes. To qualify for a CDBG grant, a program must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Benefit individuals with low or moderate incomes
• Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight
• Meet a particularly urgent need

Since 1975, the City of Tuscaloosa has received an average of $1.44 million each year in CDBG funds.

The HOME program is a Federal block grant that is designed to create affordable housing for low-income households. Often used in partnership with local non-profit organizations, the HOME program funds a variety of activities that assist with building, buying, and/or rehabilitating housing for rent or ownership, as well as providing rental assistance to low-income persons. HOME funds can be used to:

• Provide home purchase or rehabilitation financing assistance to eligible homeowners and new homebuyers
• Build or rehabilitate housing for rent or ownership
• Fund "other reasonable and necessary expenses related to the development of non-luxury housing," including site acquisition or improvement, demolition of dilapidated housing to make way for HOME-assisted development, and payment of relocation expenses
• Provide tenant-based rental assistance contracts of up to two years if such activity is consistent with their Consolidated Plan and justified under local market conditions.

Both Pre-Applications can be found online at: tuscaloosa.com/live-play/housing/cdbg. For additional information, call the City’s Office of Federal Programs at 205-248-5080 to speak with Heather Hill.