FR 5800 N Choice NI 11.10.14.pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Public and Indian Housing

Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant Program

FR-5800-N-11

H04396 Stamp

FR-5800-N-11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Funding Opportunity Description. I.

Award Information. II.

Eligibility Information.

Eligible Applicants. A.

Cost Sharing or Matching. B.

Other. C.

III.

Application and Submission Information.

Obtaining an Application Package. A.

Content and Form of Application Submission. B.

Application Submission Dates and Times. C.

Intergovernmental Review. D.

Funding Restrictions. E.

Other Submission Requirements. F.

IV.

Application Review Information.

Criteria. A.

Review and Selection Process. B.

Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates. C.

V.

Award Administration Information.

Award Notices. A.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements. B.

Reporting. C.

VI.

Agency Contact(s). VII.

Other Information. VIII.

Appendix. IX.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Public and Indian Housing

Initial

FR-5800-N-11

14.889 February 9, 2015

For FY2014 and FY2015, HUD will award two types of grants through the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative: Planning Grants and Implementation Grants:

1. Planning Grants assist communities in developing a successful neighborhood transformation plan and building support necessary for that plan to be successfully implemented.

2. Implementation Grants support those communities that have undergone a comprehensive local planning process and are ready to implement their “Transformation Plan” to redevelop the neighborhood.

Through today’s publication, HUD is making available approximately $76 million in assistance through the FY2014 and FY2015 Choice Neighborhoods Initiative for Implementation Grants, which is subject to increase if there is an FY2015 appropriation. The FY2014 NOFA for Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants has been issued under separate cover.

A. Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Summary. Choice Neighborhoods is HUD’s signature place-based initiative in support of the President’s goal to build Ladders of Opportunity to the middle class. This vision builds on the work that has been done by the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), an interagency partnership between HUD, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, and Treasury, since 2009. Through a variety of interventions, the Ladders of Opportunity plan will help community partners rebuild neighborhoods, expand early learning opportunities, create pathways to jobs, and strengthen families. This federal partnership supports locally driven solutions for transforming distressed neighborhoods using place-based strategies to address the interconnected challenges of poor quality housing, inadequate schools, poor health, high crime and lack of capital. A key component of Ladders of Opportunity is the designation of high-poverty communities as Promise Zones. A total of 20 Promise Zone designations will be made by the end of 2016, including the five designations announced in January 2014. In these Promise Zones, the Federal government is partnering with local communities and business to create jobs, increase economic activity, improve affordable housing, reduce violence and expand educational opportunities.

Choice Neighborhoods is designed to address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public housing or HUD-Assisted Housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, and stakeholders, such as public housing authorities, cities, schools, police, business owners, nonprofits, and private developers, come together to create a plan that transforms distressed HUD housing and addresses the challenges in the surrounding neighborhood. The program helps communities transform neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing and investing and leveraging investments in well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, crime prevention strategies, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs. Choice Neighborhoods ensures that current public and assisted housing residents will be able to benefit from this transformation, by preserving affordable housing or providing residents with the choice to move to affordable and accessible housing in another

Program Office:

Funding Opportunity Title:

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housing or providing residents with the choice to move to affordable and accessible housing in another existing neighborhood of opportunity. Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals:

1. Housing: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood;

2. People: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth with services and supports delivered directly to youth and their families; and

3. Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.

To achieve these core goals, communities must have in place a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. This Transformation Plan is the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing, while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families.

Experience shows that to successfully develop and implement the Transformation Plan, broad civic engagement will be needed. Applicants will need to work with public and private agencies, organizations (including philanthropic and civic organizations), and individuals to gather and leverage the financial and human capital resources needed to support the sustainability of the plan. These efforts should build community support for and involvement in the development and implementation of the plan.

In addition, as part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, HUD is working with other Federal agencies to align programs so that place-based solutions can be more readily implemented. This interagency collaboration will assist Choice Neighborhoods applicants in identifying strategies for building upon, and leveraging, high-quality housing, academic, family and community programs and anticipated investments in neighborhood revitalization efforts funded by other Federal agencies. Examples of these efforts include the Department of Justice’s Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program, the Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Health Center program, and the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program. In addition, HUD is a core member of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which supports communities that provide affordable housing, robust transportation choices, and greater economic competitiveness, by helping them to align federal investments in housing, transportation, economic development, infrastructure and the environment. Through these programs, the Departments intend to create incentives for communities to focus on the same geographic area and apply for funding from more than one source. By focusing resources in targeted places, and by drawing on the compounding effect of well-coordinated actions, HUD believes Choice Neighborhoods will result in neighborhoods of opportunity.

B. Objectives and Metrics to Measure Long Term Success: Each Choice Neighborhoods grantee is expected to develop metrics based on the objectives listed below in order to measure performance.

1. Housing Objectives. Housing transformed with the assistance of Choice Neighborhoods should be:

a. Energy Efficient, Sustainable, Accessible, and Free from Discrimination. Housing that is well-designed, embracing not only the requirements of accessible design but also concepts of visitability and universal design, with low per unit energy consumption, healthy indoor air quality, built to be resistant to local disaster risk, with affordable broadband Internet access and free from discrimination.

b. Mixed-Income. Housing affordable to families and individuals with a broad range of incomes including, low-income, moderate-income, and, market rate or unrestricted.

c. Well-Managed Property and Financially Viable. Developments have budgeted appropriately for the rental income that can be generated from the project and meet or exceed industry standards for quality management and maintenance of the property. In addition, the developments benefit from high quality maintenance over time with upgrades and replacements performed.

maintenance over time with upgrades and replacements performed.

2. People Objectives. People that live in the neighborhood benefit from:

a. Effective Education. A high level of resident access to high quality early learning programs and services so children enter kindergarten ready to learn; significant improvement in the quality of schools nearest to the target development that prepare students to graduate from high school college- and career-ready; and significant growth in existing individual resident educational outcomes over time relative to the state average.

b. Employment Opportunities. The income of neighborhood residents and residents of the revitalized development, particularly wage income for non-elderly/non-disabled adult residents, increases over time.

c. Quality Health Care. Health for residents over time is as good as or better than that of other households with similar economic and demographic conditions.

d. Housing Location, Quality, and Affordability. Residents who, by their own choice, do not return to the development have housing and neighborhood opportunities as good as or better than the opportunities available to those who occupy the redeveloped site.

3. Neighborhood Objectives. Through investments catalyzed with Choice Neighborhoods, the neighborhood has improved along the following dimensions:

a. Private and Public Investment into the Neighborhood. The neighboring housing has a low vacancy/abandonment rate, the housing inventory is of high quality, and the neighborhood is mixed-income and maintains a mixture of incomes over time.

b. Amenities. The distance traveled from the neighborhood to basic services is equal to or less than the distance traveled from the median neighborhood in the metropolitan area. Those basic services include grocery stores, banks, health clinics and doctors’ offices, dentist offices, and high-quality early learning programs and services.

c. Effective Public Schools. Public schools in the target neighborhood are safe and welcoming places for children and their families. In addition, schools have test scores that are as good as or better than the state average or are implementing school reforms that raise student achievement over time and graduate students from high school prepared for college and a career.

d. Safety. Residents are living in a safer environment as evidenced by the revitalized neighborhood having dramatically lower crime rates than the neighborhood had prior to redevelopment and maintaining a lower crime rate over time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NOFA published today provides the statutory and regulatory requirements, threshold requirements, and rating factors applicable to funding being made available today (through the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants NOFA). Applicants for the Choice Neighborhoods NOFA must also refer to the General Section for important application information and requirements, including submission requirements, which have changed this year.

Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov). If applicants have questions concerning the registration process, registration renewal, assigning an Authorized Organization Representative please contact HUD’s Grants Management Office. If you have a question about a NOFA requirement, please contact the HUD staff identified in this program NOFA. HUD staff cannot help you write your application, but can clarify requirements that are contained in the General Section, this Notice, and in the Grants.gov registration materials. New applicants should note that they are required to complete a five-step registration process in order to submit their applications electronically.

HUD’s General Section provides step-by-step instructions for applicants who must register with Grants.gov and also provides renewal/update instructions for those who have previously registered.

Application materials and instructions are posted to Grants.gov as soon as HUD finalizes them. HUD encourages applicants to subscribe to the Grants.gov free notification service at http://www.grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription.jsp encourages applicants to subscribe to the Grants.gov free notification service at http://www.grants.gov /applicants/email_subscription.jsp. By doing so, applicants will receive an email notification as soon as items are posted to the website. By joining the notification service, if a modification is made to the NOFA, applicants will receive notification that a change has been made.

HUD encourages applicants to carefully read the General Section and all parts of this Choice Neighborhoods NOFA. Carefully following the directions provided can make the difference in a successful application submission.

All applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and an active registration in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system, now part of the System for Award Management (SAM), found at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Failure to meet the requirements will prohibit you from receive a grant award.

In FY2014 and FY2015, HUD is posting the full NOFA on the Grants.gov website rather than the Federal Register. The Federal Register publication is merely a notice of where to the find the NOFA and application forms. The NOFA posted to Grants.gov is the official version of the Notice and supersedes all other sources. If there is a discrepancy between information posted to Grants.gov and other websites, the Grants.gov information prevails.

Additional Overview Information:

1. Incorporation of the General Section. HUD publishes a General Section each fiscal year that contains mandatory requirements for all applicants to HUD’s competitive grant programs including this NOFA.

Applicants must meet all of the requirements of the General Section in addition to the requirements of this NOFA to be considered and to receive funding. The full title of the General Section is General Section for Fiscal Year 2014 Discretionary Programs. It can be found on Grants.gov and on HUD's Funds Available webpage at http://portal.hud.gov /hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices /administration/grants /fundsavail.

2. OMB Approval Number(s): 2577-0269

3. Grant Type. For FY2014 and FY2015, HUD will award Implementation Grants to provide a significant amount of Federal support to those communities that have undergone a comprehensive local planning process and are now moving forward with their “Transformation Plan” to redevelop the neighborhood.

4. Available Funds. This NOFA announces the availability of approximately $76 million in FY2014 funds for Choice Neighborhoods grants. HUD anticipates awarding up to four grants not to exceed $30,000,000 each, or the sum of the amounts in Section IV.E.3, whichever is lower. At its discretion and subject to appropriations, HUD will use FY2015 Choice Neighborhoods funding to make Implementation Grant awards under this NOFA. Per the FY2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, at least $55 million of the total FY2014 Choice Neighborhoods funding must be awarded to applications in which a public housing authority is the Lead Applicant or Co-Applicant. Furthermore, HUD may set aside one Implementation Grant to an application that targets a multifamily HUD-Assisted Housing property that is receiving project-based rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (exclusive of tenant-based or project-based vouchers), section 221(d)(3) or section 236 of the National Housing Act, section 202 of Housing Act of 1959,or section 811 of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990.

5. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants are Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), local governments, for-profit entities, nonprofit entities and tribal entities. A unit of local government must be either the Lead http://www.grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription.jsp http://www.grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription.jsp https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail

Applicant or the Co-Applicant in all applications. For-profit and nonprofit entities that apply must own the target housing. See Sections I.C, III.A.1, and III.C.2 for additional information related to Eligible Applicants.

6. Eligible Target Housing. Each application must focus on the revitalization of at least one severely distressed public and/or HUD-Assisted Housing project. The application may target more than one project so long as they are all in the same neighborhood. See I.C, III.A.2, and III.C.2 for additional information related to eligible target housing.

7. Eligible Neighborhoods. The neighborhood in which the eligible target housing project(s) is/are located must be distressed. See I.C, III.A.3, and III.C.2 for additional information related to eligible neighborhoods.

8. Matching Requirement. A match of at least 5 percent of the grant amount is required in accordance with section 24 of the US Housing Act of 1937. See III.B for additional information related to the match requirement.

9. Application materials may be obtained from:

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp. Notification of any technical corrections will be published in the Federal Register and posted to Grants.gov. Responses to frequently asked questions will be posted on the Choice Neighborhoods website at http://www.hud.gov/cn/.

10. Rental Assistance Demonstration Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) provides public housing capital and operating subsidies to eligible public housing properties to be converted to long-term section 8 contracts in order to facilitate additional debt and equity financing. RAD may facilitate the recapitalization of Choice Neighborhoods housing. The Department will accept this Choice Neighborhoods application as a request to be placed on the RAD waiting list. PHAs interested in participating in RAD must designate this as a joint RAD/Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant application in the housing strategy of this application, as well as provide a letter affirmatively requesting the housing project(s) and number of units to be placed on the RAD waiting list until HUD has statutory authority to convert additional units under RAD. More information on the Rental Assistance Demonstration can be found at www.hud.gov/rad.

11. Pre-Section 106 Identification of Historic Properties. If your target housing project buildings are 48 years old or older, it is strongly recommended that you contact the State/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO/THPO) to confirm whether the buildings are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and therefore considered historic properties under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Failure to do so may hinder your ability to expend federal grant funds. Section 106 review will be conducted during the environmental review process. Extensive information about the Section 106 process and the identification of historic properties is available at: https://www.hudexchange .info/environmental-review/historic-preservation.

12. An Environmental Review of the eligible target housing project is required. You must submit information to assist in the environmental review for compliance with the laws and authorities discussed in 24 CFR Part 50 or 24 CFR Part 58 (as applicable). Early consultation with a Responsible Entity (RE) or HUD (whichever is applicable) regarding environmental review is encouraged. HUD environmental policy requires that there be a limitation of certain activities or actions by any direct or indirect parties to the transaction until HUD has completed the environmental review process. The RE or HUD must complete the environmental review before final approval of the eligible target housing project. See Section III.C.3.z. for detailed information on environmental review.

I. Funding Opportunity Description.

A. Program Description and Requirements.

https://www.hudexchange.info/environmental-review/historic-preservation https://www.hudexchange.info/environmental-review/historic-preservation

Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants support the implementation of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans that are expected to achieve the following three core goals:

1. Housing: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood;

2. People: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth with services and supports delivered directly to youth and their families; and

3. Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.

To achieve these core goals, communities must develop and implement a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation

B. Authority.

The funding authority for Choice Neighborhoods grants under this NOFA is provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Public Law 113-76, 128 Stat. 5, approved January 17, 2014). The program authority for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is Section 24 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437v) (1937 Act), as amended by the Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3547) for 2014.

C. Definitions

For purposes of the Choice Neighborhoods program, the following definitions of key terms apply. As needed, other definitions relevant to specific thresholds and rating factors will be provided in those sections of the NOFA.

1. Affordable Housing. The term “affordable housing” includes assisted housing as defined below or, in the context of a Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan, housing for which the owner or purchaser of the project has recorded a HUD-approved affordability use restriction for households earning up to 120 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) for no fewer than 20 years. Such housing is not considered replacement housing for the purposes of the one-for-one replacement requirement. The affordability restrictions shall be contained in a legally enforceable document recorded in the appropriate recorder’s office or registry of deeds and consistent with the long-term viability of the project as rental or homeownership housing.

2. Anchor Institutions. Anchor institutions are place-based entities that have regional significance and are permanently rooted, economic and cultural drivers in specific locales – generating jobs, creating local business opportunities, and contributing in significant ways to the development of human, social and cultural capital. They include universities, hospitals, sports facilities, performing arts and other major cultural facilities (such as museums and central libraries) and some very large places of worship and corporations, subject to HUD’s discretion.

3. Assisted Housing. In this NOFA, the term “assisted housing” (used interchangeably with “HUD-Assisted Housing”) means housing assisted under sections 8 or 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f and 42 U.S.C 1437g) (excluding tenant-based vouchers and where fewer than 50 percent of the units in a housing development receive project-based voucher assistance), section 221(d)(3) or section 236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715 and 12 U.S.C 1715z-1), section 202 of

Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q), section 811 of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C 8013), and the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, 25 U.S.C.

§ 4101, et seq (Indian Housing). In the case of Indian Housing, this includes only multifamily rental housing projects in which at least 50 percent of the units are assisted.

4. Case Management. Case Management is an individual- or family-centered approach to assisting people of all ages with accessing the services they want and need. It includes screening/assessment/risk management, individualized service planning based on resident needs and choices, provision of options and information, linkage/referral to formal and informal services and supports, service coordination at the client-level, crisis intervention, follow-up, advocacy, monitoring/evaluation of resident progress as well as timeliness and effectiveness of service delivery, and maintenance of records. Case management contributes to and benefits from well-coordinated services at the community level. The intensity and frequency of case management services should be tailored to the level of an individual’s or family’s needs.

5. Co-Applicant. Co-Applicant means an entity with which the Lead Applicant chooses to apply for funding under this NOFA. A Co-Applicant must also be an Eligible Applicant. The Co-Applicant will also sign the Grant Agreement and be responsible for implementing the activities identified in the Transformation Plan. A Co-Applicant must be a local government if it is not is the Lead Applicant.

6. Critical Community Improvements. The term Critical Community Improvements (CCI) refers to the funds (up to 15 percent of the Choice Neighborhoods grant) to be used for community and economic development activities to enhance the neighborhood outcomes proposed in the Transformation Plan.

Applicants must have a plan, approved by HUD, for how these funds will be used. CCI funds are flexible funds and must be leveraged with additional resources. They must be used for physical, community and economic development projects that enhance and accelerate the transformation of the neighborhood and the assisted housing being redeveloped. HUD does not explicitly define every possible use of CCI funds as use of these funds should be locally driven to solve challenges identified by the community. CCI funds are not intended to be used for basic infrastructure or substitute for basic municipal services. These funds should be used for innovative solutions to neighborhood challenges identified in the neighborhood narrative. Possible uses of funds include, but are not limited to:

a. Financing for commercial and economic development projects;

b. Neighborhood business façade improvement programs;

c. Place-making projects;

d. Neighborhood broadband programs;

e. Connectivity enhancements;

f. Revolving loan funds for business attraction and retention, streetscape improvements above and beyond the locality’s norm;

g. Programs to improve housing in the neighborhood surrounding the target housing subject of this application. Such programs could include targeted loan, grant and revolving loan programs to assist existing property owners maintain their property, model block programs, façade and front porch repair programs, and basic systems repair programs; and

h. Acquisition of underutilized land for new parks, community gardens or community facilities.

Ineligible uses of CCI funds include, but are not limited to:

a. The commission of plans and studies;

b. Water and sewer line repair or infrastructure; and

c. Street and sidewalk repair, infrastructure or lighting.

7. Evidence-based Practice. Evidence-based practice refers to the use of the best available conclusions/findings from research and studies as a base for determining the best practices and predictions of outcomes in a field. A strong evidence base is offered by studies with designs that can support causal conclusions and studies that, in total, include enough of the range of participants and settings to support generalizability.

8. Families. The term “families” has the meaning provided in section (b)(3)(B)(3) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a).

9. Hard to House. Hard to House refers to a special population of residents who face multiple, persistent barriers to move toward self-sufficiency or maintain stable housing for reasons that go beyond affordability, such as long-term unemployment, substance use or mental health problems, and/or a criminal record. These vulnerable households may have trouble finding a unit in the private market and may face significant challenges meeting the screening requirements to return to a new mixed-income development.

10. Housing Implementation Entity. The entity that is responsible for implementing the Housing component of the Transformation Plan and that is at-risk and financially responsible for developing the housing and the long-term asset management of the housing.

11. Lead Applicant. Lead Applicant means the primary entity responsible for implementing the activities identified in the Transformation Plan. The Lead Applicant is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all elements of the Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan and is accountable to HUD to complete the work proposed in the application, as amended with HUD approval. The Lead Applicant must meet the qualifications of an Eligible Applicant. The Lead Applicant will sign the Grant Agreement.

12. Livability Principles. Livability principles jointly adopted by HUD, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) to support federal neighborhood and community development initiatives. The Livability Principles are as follows: provide more transportation choices;

promote equitable, affordable housing; enhance economic competitiveness; support existing communities;

coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment; and value communities and neighborhoods. For further information, see www.hud.gov/sustainability.

13. Local Government. The term “local government” shall have the same meaning as “unit of general local government” in section 102(a)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302).

14. Low-performing School. The term low-performing school means, “schools receiving assistance through Title I that are in corrective action or restructuring in the State, as determined under section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and the secondary schools (both middle and high schools) in the State that are equally as low-achieving as these Title I schools and are eligible for, but do not receive, Title I funds.”

15. Neighborhood. The neighborhood is the geographic area within which the activities of the Transformation Plan shall focus. HUD understands that neighborhood boundaries are not fixed like municipal or county boundaries. The Department also recognizes that neighborhoods do not necessarily follow statistical boundaries, such as Census Tracts. For Choice Neighborhoods, HUD will rely on applicants to identify boundaries for the target neighborhood that are generally accepted as a neighborhood. In many communities, those typical neighborhood boundaries are delineated by major streets or physical topography. The neighborhood must be larger than just the footprint of the distressed public or HUD-Assisted Housing targeted in the application, but cannot encompass more than one municipal jurisdiction.

16. Neighborhood Assets. Neighborhood assets means:

a. Developmental assets that allow residents to attain the skills needed to be successful in all aspects of daily life (e.g., educational institutions, early learning centers, and health resources);

http://www.hud.gov/sustainability

b. Commercial assets that are associated with production, employment, transactions, and sales (e.g., labor force and retail establishments);

c. Recreational assets that create value in a neighborhood beyond work and education (e.g., parks, open space, community gardens, athletics and arts organizations);

d. Physical assets that are associated with the built environment and physical infrastructure (e.g., housing, commercial buildings, and roads);

e. Social assets that establish well-functioning social interactions (e.g., public safety and community engagement); and

f. Cultural assets that enhance the quality of life for the neighborhood residents.

17. Neighborhood Implementation Entity. The entity that is responsible for coordinating, overseeing and implementing the Critical Community Improvements. The Neighborhood Implementation Entity must be either 1) the local government in which your target housing resides, 2) a local redevelopment authority, or 3) a public/private partnership which receives local funding for its activities in the target neighborhood and which has local government participation on its governing board. The Neighborhood Implementation Entity may partner with a local organization that works primarily in the target neighborhood.

18. Nonprofit Organization. Nonprofits eligible to be Lead or Co-Applicants under this NOFA are entities that are classified as such in accordance with section 501(c) of the Federal Tax Code or have been designated as such by their state government. A nonprofit organization can be organized for the following purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, or other similar purposes in the public interest. To obtain tax-exempt status, qualified organizations must file an application with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and receive designation as such by the IRS. For more information, go to www.irs.gov.

Entities that are in the process of applying for tax-exempt status, but have not yet received nonprofit designation from the IRS by the application deadline date, will not be considered an eligible applicant. All nonprofit applicants must submit either their IRS determination letter to prove their 501(c) status or the letter from the state government to prove their nonprofit status.

19. Part I Violent Crimes. Part I Violent Crimes shall have the same meaning used by the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Uniform Crime Report. Aggravated assault, rape, murder, and robbery are classified as Part I Violent Crimes.

20. People Implementation Entity. An entity with proven experience in supportive service design and implementation which has primary responsibility for facilitating the achievement of the supportive services strategy. This strategy should be minimally comprised of case management and service coordination related to health, economic development, education and early childhood education.

21. Physical Needs Assessment. A Physical Needs Assessment (PNA) should be prepared by an independent registered engineer or architect that conducts a physical inspection of at least 10 percent of the dwelling units and 50 percent of the non-dwelling space. Generally, it identifies all of the work needed to bring the housing project up to the applicable modernization and energy conservation standards.

Typically, a PNA takes into account the life cycle replacement costs of all building systems for a period of 20 years, however for purposes of the rating factors in this NOFA HUD will only consider the cost of immediate needs for rehabilitation.

22. Persistently Lowest-Achieving School. The term persistently lowest-achieving school means, as determined by the State:

a. Any school receiving assistance through Title I that is in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring and that –

(1) Is among the lowest-achieving five percent of Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring or the lowest-achieving five Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is greater; or restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is greater; or

(2) Is a high school that has had a graduation rate that is less than 60 percent over a number of years;

and

b. Any secondary school that is eligible for, but does not receive, Title I funds that –

(1) Is among the lowest-achieving five percent of secondary schools or the lowest-achieving five secondary schools in the State that are eligible for, but do not receive, Title I funds, whichever number of schools is greater; or

(2) Is a high school that has had a graduation rate that is less than 60 percent over a number of years.

23. Principal Team Member. Principal Team Members are the Lead Applicant, Co-Applicant(s) if any, Housing Implementation Entity, People Implementation Entity, and Neighborhood Implementation Entity.

24. Public Housing. The term “public housing” refers to housing funded under an Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) and in accordance with section 9 of the US Housing Act of 1937. A public housing project is a group of assisted housing that has a single Project Number assigned by the Director of Public Housing of a HUD Field Office and has, or had (in the case of previously demolished units) housing units under an ACC and in accordance with section 9 of the US Housing Act of 1937. If a PHA had two distinct projects, with different project numbers, under its original ACC, and those projects were combined into a single project number in the Inventory Management System (IMS)/Public Housing Information Center (IMS/PIC) for the purposes of implementing HUD’s project-based budgeting requirements using Asset Management Project (AMP) numbers, the applicant should use the original project number to identify the public housing project targeted by the application. Applicants should be clear throughout their application as to the project they are targeting.

25. Public Housing Agency. The term “public housing agency” (PHA) has the meaning provided in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.1437a).

26. Positive Youth Development. Positive youth development is an intentional, pro-social approach that:

engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances youths’ strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people, including social skills, emotional competence, positive relationships with peers and adults, and civic and school engagement.

27. Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). A HUD program that allows PHAs to convert public housing to project-based section 8 housing. More information on the RAD Program can be found at www .hud.gov/rad.

28. Replacement Housing. Replacement housing is rental housing that will replace demolished, disposed of, or otherwise reduced public or assisted housing. Replacement housing may take the form of public housing or section 8 assisted housing as defined under sections 8 and 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f and 42 U.S.C 1437g). With regard to section 8 housing, project-based vouchers (section 8(o)(13) of the US Housing Act of 1937) and project-based rental assistance as provided in a RAD conversion are included in this definition. RAD provides public housing capital and operating subsidies to eligible public housing properties to be converted to long-term section 8 contracts in order to facilitate additional debt and equity financing. If awarded a Choice Implementation Grant, awardees may use RAD as a replacement housing vehicle. To satisfy the housing replacement requirement through acquisition, the replacement unit must not have been receiving assistance under the sections listed above in this paragraph prior to submitting the application. For example, you cannot acquire a Section 202 funded property that is near the public or assisted housing site targeted in the application for the purposes of deeming that replacement housing.

29. Severely Distressed Housing.

a. In accordance with Section 24(j)(2) of the 1937 Act, the term means a public and/or assisted housing http://www.hud.gov/rad http://www.hud.gov/rad project (or building in a project) that:

(1) Requires major redesign, reconstruction, or redevelopment, or partial or total demolition, to correct serious deficiencies in the original design (including inappropriately high population density), deferred maintenance, physical deterioration or obsolescence of major systems, and other deficiencies in the physical plan of the project;

(2) Is a significant contributing factor to the physical decline of, and disinvestment by public and private entities in, the surrounding neighborhood;

(3) Is:

(i) Occupied predominantly by families who are very low-income families with children, have unemployed members, and are dependent on various forms of public assistance;

(ii) Has high rates of vandalism and criminal activity (including drug-related criminal activity) in comparison to other housing in the area; or

(iii) Is lacking in sufficient appropriate transportation, supportive services, economic opportunity, schools, civic and religious institutions, and public services, resulting in severe social distress in the project;

(4) Cannot be revitalized through assistance under other programs, such as the Capital Fund and Operating Fund programs for public housing under the 1937 Act, or the programs under sections 9 or 14 of the 1937 Act (as in effect before the effective date under section 503(a) of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-276, approved October 21, 1998)), because of cost constraints and inadequacy of available amounts; and

(5) In the case of an individual building that currently forms a portion of the public and/or assisted housing project targeted by the application to this NOFA: (a) Is sufficiently separable from the remainder of the project of which the building is part, such that the revitalization of the building is feasible; or (b) was part of the targeted public and/or assisted housing project that has been legally vacated or demolished, but for which HUD has not yet provided replacement housing assistance (other than tenant-based assistance). “Replacement housing assistance” is defined as funds that have been furnished by HUD to perform major rehabilitation on, or reconstruction of, the public and/or assisted housing that have been legally vacated or demolished.

b. A severely distressed project that has been legally vacated or demolished (but for which HUD has not yet provided replacement housing assistance, other than tenant-based assistance) must have met the definition of physical distress not later than the day the demolition application approval letter was dated by HUD.

30. Service Coordination. Service Coordination is a systems-centered approach to coordinating multiple services across agencies within a community, based on the needs of the target resident population, in order to increase accessibility, utilization, and quality of services and to reduce fragmentation in service delivery systems. Service coordination often requires the negotiation of enhanced services to address unique needs and gaps in available services. Partnership and network building with community-based supportive and social service agencies are critical components of service coordination.

31. Supportive Services. The term “supportive services” includes all activities that will promote upward mobility, self-sufficiency, or improved quality of life, including such activities as literacy training, activities that promote early learning and the continuum of educational supports, remedial and continuing education, job training, financial literacy instruction, day care, youth services, aging-in-place, public transportation, physical and mental health services, economic development activities, and other programs for which the community demonstrates need.

32. Transformation Plan. The Transformation Plan is a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy proposed (as presented in the Choice Neighborhoods grant application) to achieve the three core goals of Choice Neighborhoods (Housing, People, Neighborhood). The Transformation Plan is a living document that is expected to change over time. HUD’s approval will be required for revisions to the Transformation Plan.

33. Transition Age Youth. Transition age youth are those aged 16 to 24 who experience a number of challenges on their path to a successful adulthood, including youth transitioning out of foster care or juvenile detention facilities, youth who have run away from home or dropped out of school, and youth with disabilities.

34. Tribal Entities. Tribal entities includes Indian tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities, as defined in section 4(22) of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, 25 U.S.C. § 4103(22).

II. Award Information.

A. Available Funds.

HUD is making available through this NOFA $76,000,000 for Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant Program.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFA as a result of HUD's efforts to recapture unused funds, use carryover funds, or because of the availability of additional appropriated funds. Use of these funds will be subject to statutory constraints. All awards are subject to the applicable funding restrictions described in the General Section and to those contained in this NOFA.

1. Choice Neighborhoods Grants. A total of $90 million has been appropriated for Choice Neighborhoods in FY2014, of which at least $55 million must be awarded to public housing authorities.

Approximately $14 million of the $90 million in funding was used for FY13 Choice Neighborhoods grants awards. Approximately $76 million in funding is being made available under this NOFA. HUD intends to add FY2015 funds to this NOFA once those funds are appropriated. HUD may set aside one grant award for the highest scoring application that targets a multifamily HUD-Assisted Housing property that is receiving project-based rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (exclusive of tenant-based or project-based vouchers), section 221(d)(3) or section 236 of the National Housing Act, section 202 of Housing Act of 1959, or section 811 of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. The maximum grant amount is $30 million. Voucher assistance needed for relocation purposes in association with the Implementation Grants will be in addition to the Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant.

2. Grant Sizing. For the purposes of establishing the maximum amount of Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant funding that you may request, you will calculate a development cost for the replacement housing units to be developed in the Transformation Plan and allow for additional funding to cover non-housing activities. See Section IV.E.3 for detailed instructions on how to calculate this amount.

You may request the lesser of this calculated amount or $30,000,000. HUD will provide a grant sizing limitations worksheet which you must complete in order to determine the maximum amount you may request. This worksheet must be provided in the attachments section of your application.

3. Grant Term. Grantees must proceed in a timely manner, as indicated by the timeframes established in this NOFA and Grant Agreement. See Section IV.E.1 for statutory time limits related to the grant and expenditure of funds, including the requirement that all FY2014 Choice Neighborhoods funds must be expended by September 30, 2021. The grant term will accommodate the timeframes established by Congress for any FY2015 funding included in the grant awards.

B. Number of Awards.

HUD expects to make approximately 3 awards from the funds available under this NOFA.

C. Maximum Award Information.

Estimated Total Funding: $76,000,000 Minimum Award Amount: $0 Per Budget Period Maximum Award Amount: $30,000,000 Per Budget Period D. Period of Performance.

Grantees must proceed in a timely manner, as indicated by the time-frames established in this NOFA and the Implementation Grant Agreement.

Estimated Project Start Date: 10/05/2015 Estimated Project End Date: 09/30/2021 Other

Additional Information on Project Periods

See Section IV.E for additional information.

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

F. Supplementation.

"Not Applicable"

III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

Eligible applicants under this NOFA include:

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Additional Information on Eligibility:

1. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants are Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), local governments, for-profit entities, nonprofit entities and tribal entities. A unit of local government must be either the Lead Applicant or the Co-Applicant in all applications. For-profit and nonprofit entities that apply must own the target housing. Also see the Eligible Applicants Threshold Requirement in Section III.C.2 of this NOFA and the Definitions in Section I.C for definitions of related terms.

Definitions in Section I.C for definitions of related terms.

a. Ineligible to Apply. Individuals are not eligible to apply.

b. Troubled Status for PHAs. This applies to PHA applicants and is considered a Threshold Requirement under Section III.C.2 of this NOFA. If a PHA was designated as troubled by HUD pursuant to section 6(j)(2) of the 1937 Act on the most recently released Operational Troubled List, HUD will use documents and information available to it to determine whether that PHA qualifies as an eligible applicant.

In accordance with section 24(j) of the 1937 Act, a troubled PHA may still be eligible to apply if it: