fy12 cn planning grants nofa final.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. 5600-N-10]

HUD’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 NOFA for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative –

Planning Grants

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing and Office of

Multifamily Housing Programs, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of HUD’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Notice of Funding Availability for HUD’s

Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Planning Grants.

SUMMARY: Today’s publication is governed by the information and instructions found in the

Notice of HUD’s Fiscal Year 2012 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) Policy Requirements and General Section (General Section) to HUD’s FY2012 NOFAs for Discretionary Programs, published on September 19, 2011 and this program section of the NOFA. For FY2012, HUD will award two types of grants for 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 $5 million in assistance through the FY2012 Choice Neighborhoods Initiative for Planning Grants. The NOFA for

Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grants was issued under separate cover on

January 10, 2012.

A. Choice Neighborhoods Initiative – Summary: The spatial concentration of poverty remains a serious and often unrecognized challenge to the ability of poor families and children to access opportunities and move up the economic ladder. Many neighborhoods of concentrated poverty contain distressed public and/or HUD-assisted housing in need of repair or replacement.

Prior to the creation of Choice Neighborhoods, HOPE VI was the only major source of revitalization funding available to these areas. This funding was only available to the public housing stock, and HUD could not reach nearby distressed assisted or vacant private housing.

Choice Neighborhoods helps communities also address assisted and vacant housing units, while investing in people and neighborhood assets, to transform neighborhoods of distress into revitalized mixed-income neighborhoods.

Choice Neighborhoods employs a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation.

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, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs. Choice

Neighborhoods will ensure that current 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 existing neighborhood of opportunity. Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals:

1. Housing: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the long-term;

2. People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents’ health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and

3. Neighborhood: Transform distressed, high-poverty neighborhoods into viable, mixed-income and sustainable neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

To achieve these core goals, successful applicants must develop and implement a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. This Transformation Plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing units, while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families.

To successfully develop and implement the Transformation Plan, applicants will need to work with public and private agencies, organizations (including philanthropic organizations), and individuals to gather and leverage resources needed to support the financial sustainability of the plan. These efforts should build community support for and involvement in the development and implementation of the plan.

In addition, 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 and the

Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program. 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. HUD is also pursuing collaboration opportunities with other Federal programs, through the White House Neighborhood

Revitalization Initiative.

These coordinated efforts should result in the strategic investment of resources into the following key neighborhood assets:

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

b. Commercial assets 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, arts organizations, restaurants, movie theatres, and athletics);

d. Physical assets associated with the built environment and physical infrastructure (e.g.

housing, commercial buildings, roads, sidewalks and bike paths); and

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

By focusing resources in targeted places, and by drawing on the compounding effect of well-coordinated actions, HUD believes Choice Neighborhoods will support local organizations building neighborhoods of opportunity.

B. Anticipated Objectives That Will Be Used to Develop Metrics to Measure Long Term

Success: As Implementation Grantees commence their work, the Department will work to develop metrics appropriate to a given site and neighborhood in order to measure performance.

Metrics are expected to be based on the objectives listed below. Applicants awarded Planning

Grants will be encouraged to develop neighborhood revitalization plans with these objectives in mind.

1. Housing Objectives: Housing transformed by Choice Neighborhoods is expected to be:

a. Energy Efficient, Sustainable, Accessible, Connected and Free from Discrimination.

HUD’s expectation for Choice Neighborhoods are properties with low per unit energy consumption, healthy indoor air quality, built to be resistant to local disaster risk, exceeding the

Section 504 and Fair Housing Act accessibility requirements, with affordable broadband Internet access and free from discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing.

b. Mixed-Income. HUD’s expectation for Choice Neighborhoods are properties with a mix of extremely low-income (e.g. public/assisted), low income (e.g. tax credit/HOME units), and, as appropriate, moderate income (e.g. market rate rent/homeownership units).

c. Physically Viable. HUD’s expectation for Choice Neighborhoods are properties that are constructed with durable and low-maintenance materials, receive high quality maintenance over time, and scheduled upgrades and replacements are performed.

d. Financially Viable. HUD’s expectation for Choice Neighborhoods are projects that have budgeted appropriately for the rental income that can be generated from the project (including rental subsidy) to meet debt payments and meet or exceed industry standards for quality management and maintenance of the property.

2. People Objectives: People that live in the housing transformed through Choice

Neighborhoods are expected to improve their quality of life.

a. Resident Groups. There are two sets of resident groups for which metrics will be established.

(1) Baseline Residents. The grantee and HUD will work together to monitor the location and outcomes for the baseline residents of the public and/or assisted development.

These are the residents that lived in the targeted redevelopment site at the time of application for

Choice Neighborhoods. HUD’s expectation is that the tenants who relocate find housing and neighborhood opportunities as good as or better than the opportunities available to tenants who return to the redeveloped site, and that all residents of the targeted redevelopment site experience improvements along all of the indicators below relative to their pre-redevelopment circumstances.

(2) Revitalized Development Residents. The grantee and HUD will also work together to track the experiences and changing characteristics of residents who live at the revitalized site.

HUD’s goal is that, over time, the average incomes at the site rise, residents experience a safe living environment, children have access to high quality early learning programs and services and high quality schools that prepare students to graduate from high school college- and career-ready and perform well on standardized tests relative to the state average, there is good access to parks and recreation, and residents have access to quality health care.

b. Outcomes. Outcomes for both the baseline residents and the residents of the revitalized developments are planned to be measured along the following dimensions:

(1) Housing Location, Quality, and Affordability: HUD’s expectation is that baseline 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. This is consistent with HUD’s strategic plan objective to increase the proportion of HUD-assisted families in low-poverty and racially diverse communities.

(2) Resident Health: HUD’s expectation is that health for residents over time is as good as or better than other households with similar economic and demographic conditions at baseline.

(3) Resident Safety: HUD’s expectation is that 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.

(4) Employment: HUD’s expectation is that the income of baseline residents and residents of the revitalized development, particularly wage income for non-elderly/non-disabled adult residents, increases over time. This is consistent with HUD’s strategic plan objective to increase the average income of existing HUD-assisted households.

(5) Education: HUD’s expectation is 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.

3. Neighborhood Objectives: Through Choice Neighborhoods, the neighborhood is expected to improve:

a. Other Neighborhood Housing: HUD’s expectation is that post-redevelopment the neighboring housing has a very low vacancy/abandonment rate, that the housing inventory be of high quality, and that the neighborhood be mixed income and maintain a mixture of incomes over time. This may include maintaining a significant amount of the private inventory as affordable post-redevelopment.

b. Services: HUD’s expectation is that 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. Public Schools: HUD’s expectation is that public schools in the target neighborhood are safe and welcoming places for children and their families. In addition, HUD’s expectation is that the 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. Other education programs: HUD’s expectation is that infants, toddlers and preschool-age children have access to high quality early learning programs and services that result in significantly improved outcomes in physical well-being and motor development, social-emotional development, language and literacy development, and cognition and general knowledge, including early numeracy for children and that engage their families in meaningful ways.

e. Public assets: HUD’s expectation is that the distance to travel to high quality park and recreational facilities in the neighborhood be equal to or less than for other neighborhoods in the jurisdiction and the region.

f. Effective Transportation Alternatives: HUD’s expectation is that neighborhood residents have quality public transit, walking and/or biking options to connect them easily to places of work and local services.

g. Job Access: HUD’s expectation is that neighborhood residents have rates of employment among working age non-disabled adults similar or better than the employment rate in other neighborhoods in the jurisdiction and region.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding specific program requirements should be directed to the agency contact identified in this program NOFA.

Questions regarding the General Section should be directed to the Grants Management Office at

(202) 708-0667 (this is not a toll-free number) or the NOFA Information Center at (800) HUD-

8929 (toll-free). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access these numbers via

TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

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 Planning Grants NOFA).

Applicants for this NOFA must also refer to the FY2012 General Section for important application information and requirements, including submission requirements, which have changed this year.

In FY2012, HUD is continuing its requirement that applicants submit their applications electronically through http://www.grants.gov. If applicants have questions concerning the registration process, registration renewal, assigning an Authorized Organization Representative, or have a question about a NOFA requirement, please contact 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/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.

Pursuant to government-wide policy, all applicants must have a DUNS number and be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) to receive an award of funds from HUD.

Applicants applying via Grants.gov already meet this requirement by completing the Grants.gov registration requirements. Applicants who receive a waiver to submit a paper application, if any, must also comply with the requirement for a DUNS number and registration in the CCR. Failure to meet the requirement will prohibit you from receive a grant award.

In FY2012, 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 if there is a discrepancy between information posted to Grants.gov and other websites, the

Grants.gov information prevails.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW INFORMATION 8

FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT 9

I. Funding Opportunity Description 9

A.Program Description. 9

B.Authority 9

C.Definitions. 10

II.Award Information 14

A.Availability of Choice Neighborhoods Funds 14

III.Eligibility Information 14

A.Key Eligibility Criteria 14

B.Match Requirements 16

C. Other 16

1. Program Activities. 16

2. Threshold Requirements. 19

3. Program Requirements. 24

IV. Application, Submission and Timely Receipt Information. 31

V.Application Review Information. 38

A.Criteria 39

B. Review and Selection Process. 48

VI.Award Administration Information. 51

VII.Agency Contacts 54

VIII.Other Information 54

OVERVIEW INFORMATION:

A. Federal Agency Name. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing.

B. Funding Opportunity Title. Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants Fiscal Year 2012.

C. Announcement Type. Initial announcement.

D. Funding Opportunity Number. The Federal Register number for this NOFA is 5600-N-10.

The OMB approval number for this program is 2577-0269.

E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number. The CFDA number for this

NOFA is 14.892, “Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants.”

F. Dates. The application deadline date is May 1, 2012. Electronic applications must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. eastern time on the deadline date. See this NOFA for application submission, faxing instructions, and timely receipt requirements, including Section IV.C, which provides detailed information on what qualifies as “received.” See HUD’s 2012 General Section for application submission, faxing instructions, and timely receipt requirements, unless otherwise noted in this NOFA. Note: Grants.gov now uses Adobe Reader 9.4. Applicants must use the latest version of Adobe reader that is compatible and available from the Grants.gov website.

Information on the latest version of Adobe Reader can be found on the Grants.gov website at www.grants.gov. HUD recommends that applicants download either of these two readers to prepare and transmit the application to Grants.gov. HUD will not accept an entire application submitted by fax.

G. Additional Overview Content Information

1. Available Funds. This NOFA announces the availability of approximately $5 million in

FY2012 funds for Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants. HUD anticipates awarding 17-20

Planning grants of up to $300,000 each. At its discretion, HUD may use remaining FY2011 and additional FY2012 Choice Neighborhoods funding to make Planning Grant awards under this

NOFA.

2. Eligible Applicants. Choice Neighborhoods eligible applicants are Public Housing

Authorities (PHAs), local governments, tribal entities, nonprofits, and for-profit developers that apply jointly with a public entity. See Sections I.C, III.A.1, and III.C.2 for additional information related to Eligible Applicants.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Matching Requirement. A match of at least 5 percent of the grant amount is required. See

III.B for additional information related to the match requirement.

6. Application materials may be obtained from Grants.gov. 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 www.hud.gov/cn/.

7. Rental Assistance Demonstration. Choice Neighborhoods applicants may be eligible to apply for HUD’s new Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). RAD provides for public housing ACC capital and operating subsidies or certain expiring subsidies provided to other eligible properties to be converted to long-term section 8 contracts in order to facilitate additional debt and equity financing. More information can be found at www.hud.gov/rad. However, unless you are selected for participation in RAD on or before the Choice Neighborhoods application deadline stated in this NOFA, your Choice Neighborhoods application should not assume that your targeted site(s) will be part of RAD.

FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Description.

Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants will support the development of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans which, when implemented, may be expected to achieve the following three core goals:

1. Housing: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the long-term;

2. People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents’ health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and

3. Neighborhood: Transform distressed, high-poverty neighborhoods into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

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

B. Authority

1. The funding authority for Choice Neighborhoods grants under this NOFA is provided by the

Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-55, 125 Stat. 552, approved November, 18, 2011).

2. 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 Department of

Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2012.

http://www.hud.gov/cn/ http://www.hud.gov/rad

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 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 (like museums and libraries) public utilities and some very large churches and corporations.

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. Co-Applicant. Co-Applicant means any 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, but will not directly receive access to funding through HUD’s Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS). A Co-Applicant is only required when a for-profit developer is the Lead Applicant).

5. Critical Community Improvements. The term “critical community improvements” means:

a. Development or improvement of community facilities to promote upward mobility, self-sufficiency, or improved quality of life for residents of the neighborhood, such as construction or rehabilitation of parks and community gardens, or environmental improvements; or

b. Activities to promote economic development, such as development or improvement of transit, retail, community financial institutions, public services, facilities, assets or other community resources.

6. 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.

7. Families. The term “families” has the meaning provided in section 3(B)(3) of the United

States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a).

8. Lead Applicant. Lead Applicant means the primary entity responsible for implementing the activities identified in the application. The Lead Applicant must meet the qualifications of an

Eligible Applicant. The Lead Applicant will sign the Grant Agreement and is the sole entity that will have access to HUD’s Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS) in order to drawdown

Choice Neighborhoods funding.

9. Livability Principles. Livability principles jointly adopted by HUD, EPA and 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.

10. 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).

11. Long-Term Viability. The term “long-term viability” refers to a community that has in place all five Neighborhood Assets sufficient to provide for resident well-being and community quality of life.

12. 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.”

13. 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 is typically an area less than two miles wide. Note: HUD reserves the right to ask applicants to provide evidence that the target neighborhood boundary is generally accepted. Such evidence might include planning, community development or zoning maps which have been adopted by a public jurisdiction.

14. 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);

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); and http://www.hud.gov/sustainability

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

15. Nonprofit Organization. Nonprofits eligible to be an applicant 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.

16. 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.

17. 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

(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.

18. Planning Coordinator. A Planning Coordinator is an outside person or entity separate from the Lead Applicant or Co-Applicant selected to coordinate the planning process. The Planning

Coordinator should have extensive professional experience in leading comprehensive neighborhood planning processes that lead to implementation activities and improved outcomes.

The Planning Coordinator is not just a local partner/stakeholder, but rather a single person/entity selected to assist the grantee in carrying out the grant activities. Having a Planning Coordinator is optional.

19. Public Entity. The term “public entity” means any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government.

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

21. Public Housing Project. A public housing project is a group of housing units 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 Annual

Contributions Contract. If a PHA had two distinct projects, with different project numbers, http://www.irs.gov/ under its original ACC, and those projects were combined into a single project number in the

Public Housing Information Center (PIC) for the purposes of implementing HUD’s project-based budgeting requirements using Asset Management Project (AMP) numbers, the applicant may 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.

22. Replacement Housing. Replacement housing is housing that will replace demolished, disposed of, or otherwise reduced public or assisted housing. It includes 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), section 202 of Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q), and section 811 of the National

Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C 8013). With regard to section 8 housing, project-based vouchers (section 8o(13) of the US Housing Act of 1937) are included in this definition, but tenant-based vouchers are excluded except as permitted by HUD. To satisfy the one-for-one replacement requirement through acquisition, the replacement unit must not have been receiving assistance prior to submitting the application under the sections listed above in this paragraph.

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.

23. Severely Distressed Housing.

a. In accordance with Section 24(j)(2) of the 1937 Act, the term means a public and/or assisted housing 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) (a) Is occupied predominantly by families who are very low-income families with children, have unemployed members, and are dependent on various forms of public assistance; (b) has high rates of vandalism and criminal activity (including drug-related criminal activity) in comparison to other housing in the area; or (c) 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 units 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.

24. 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.

25. Transformation Plan. The Transformation Plan is a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy proposed which, when implemented, will achieve the three core goals of

Choice Neighborhoods (Housing, People, Neighborhood).

26. 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. Availability of Choice Neighborhoods Funds

1. Choice Neighborhoods Grants. A total of $120 million has been appropriated for Choice

Neighborhoods in FY2012, of which at least $80 million must be awarded to public housing authorities. This NOFA provides approximately $5 million for Planning Grants. The table below indicates the amount of funds allocated for Planning Grants.

Grant Type Allocation of Funds

(Approximate)

Maximum Grant

Request

Anticipated Number of Grant Awards

Planning Grants $5,000,000 $300,000 17-20

Implementation Grants

(to be awarded under a separate NOFA)

$110,000,000 $30,000,000 4-5

TOTAL $115,000,000

2. Grant Sizing. Applicants may request up to $300,000 for a Planning Grant.

3. Grant term. Grantees must proceed in a timely manner, as indicated by the timeframes established in this NOFA and Grant Agreement. The term of a Planning Grant is two years from the date of Grant Agreement execution.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Key Eligibility Criteria

1. Eligible Applicants. Eligible applicants for Choice Neighborhoods grants are Public

Housing Authorities (PHAs), tribal entities, local governments, nonprofits, and for-profit developers that apply jointly with a public entity. 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.

a. Ineligible to Apply. Private citizens 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 HUD has designated a PHA as troubled pursuant to section 6(j)(2) of the 1937 Act, HUD will use documents and information available to it to determine whether you qualify as an eligible applicant. However, PHAs designated as troubled are strongly encouraged to consider partnering with another entity (such as a local government, a nonprofit, or a for-profit developer) to serve as the lead applicant for purposes of the Choice Neighborhoods grant. In accordance with section 24(j) of the 1937 Act, a troubled

PHA may still be eligible to apply if it:

(1) Is designated as troubled principally for reasons that will not affect its capacity to carry out a revitalization program;

(2) Is making substantial progress toward eliminating the deficiencies of the agency that resulted in its troubled status;

(3) Has not been found to be in noncompliance with fair housing or other civil rights requirements; or

(4) Is otherwise determined by HUD to be capable of carrying out a revitalization program.

c. Previous Participation Certification for Multifamily Assisted Property Owners. If the Lead

Applicant is the owner of the assisted property that is the subject of the Choice Neighborhoods activity grant, the applicant is required to submit form HUD-2530, Previous Participation

Certification. If the property listed has defaulted on a mortgage loan or has less than satisfactory review ratings (physical inspections, management and financial reviews), HUD will use documents and information available to it to determine whether you qualify as an eligible applicant. Approvals of entities that have defaulted or received unsatisfactory review rating will be subjected to HUD’s Previous Participation clearance review process. Applicants may still be eligible to apply for Choice Neighborhoods funding if HUD deems the applicant to be making substantial progress in addressing the deficiencies related to such default or review rating.

However, multifamily assisted property owners with defaults or less than satisfactory review ratings are strongly encouraged to consider partnering with another entity (such as a local government, a nonprofit, or a for-profit developer) to serve as the lead applicant for purposes of the Choice Neighborhoods grant.

2. Eligible Target Housing. Each application must focus on the revitalization of at least one severely distressed public and/or HUD-assisted housing project. The definition of severely distressed housing from section 24(j)(2) of the 1937 Act is included in section I.C along with definitions of public housing and assisted housing.

3. Eligible Neighborhoods.

a. Eligible neighborhoods for Choice Neighborhoods grant funds include neighborhoods with

(1) at least 20 percent of the households estimated to be in poverty or have extremely low incomes and

(2) that are experiencing distress related to one or more of the following:

(a) high crime; defined as where either the Part I violent crime rate (measured as Part I crimes per 1000 persons) over the three years (2008-2010) is at least 1.5 times the per capita Part

I violent crime rate (measured as Part I crimes per 1000 persons) of the city or, where no city data is available, county/parish in which the neighborhood is located over the same time frame;

or the rate is greater than 18 crimes per 1000 persons; OR

(b) high vacancy or substandard homes; defined as where either the most current rate within the last year of long-term vacant or substandard homes is at least 1.5 times higher than that of the city or, where no city data is available, county/parish as a whole; or the rate is greater than 4 percent; OR

(c) inadequate schools; defined as where either a low-performing public school or a persistently lowest-achieving public school is in the neighborhood or at least 20 percent of the children from the target public and/or HUD-assisted housing attend such a school.

b. HUD recognizes that some of the eligible neighborhoods may be impacted areas and/or areas of minority concentration. Since a goal of this program is to transform such areas into neighborhoods of choice, these neighborhoods are still eligible for funding under this NOFA.

B. Match Requirements

1. Choice Neighborhoods Grant Match. HUD is required by section 24(c)(1)(A) of the 1937

Act (42 U.S.C. 1437v(c)(1)(A)) to include the requirement for matching funds for all HOPE VI-related grants, which includes Choice Neighborhoods. You are required to have matching funds in the amount of five percent of the requested grant amount in cash or in-kind donations.

Applications that do not demonstrate the minimum five percent match will not be considered for funding. This is considered a threshold requirement under Section III.C.2 of this NOFA.

2. No HOPE VI or Choice Neighborhoods Funding in Match. In accordance with section

24(c) of the 1937 Act, for purposes of calculating the amount of matching funds required by

Section 1 above, you may NOT include amounts from HOPE VI program funding, including

HOPE VI Revitalization, HOPE VI Demolition, HOPE VI Neighborhood Networks, HOPE VI

Main Street grants, Choice Neighborhoods Implementation, or Choice Neighborhoods Planning grants.

3. Evidence of Use. Grantees will be required to show evidence that matching resources were actually received and used for their intended purposes through quarterly reports as the project proceeds. Sources of matching funds may be substituted after grant award, as long as the dollar requirement is met.

4. Grantee Enforcement. Grantees must pursue and enforce any commitment (including commitments for services) obtained from any public or private entity for any contribution or commitment to the project or surrounding area that was part of the match amount.

5. OMB Circulars and Ability to Use Funds for Match. Refer to section III.B of the General

Section for OMB Circulars that are applicable for matching requirements.

C. Other

1. Program Activities. Program activities include tasks necessary to develop a Transformation

Plan, align investments with this plan, and develop the relevant planning and evaluation capacity of the applicant and its partners.

a. Eligible Activities. You are not required to carry out all of the activities described below, but your application must address those activities necessary to develop a comprehensive

Transformation Plan as is appropriate to the local context and the current status of the local planning process. Applicants may undertake activities necessary to:

(1) Conduct comprehensive needs assessments to inform the development of the

Transformation Plan. The needs assessments should include:

(a) Current patterns of disinvestment with the neighborhood, including vacant/abandoned homes and businesses, the quality of the existing housing stock, foreclosures, and current home values and rents. Discuss other subsidized housing (for example Housing Choice Vouchers, LIHTC units, local affordable housing units, etc.) in the neighborhood not part of the target public and/or assisted housing project(s), the current mix of incomes, and any long-term economic drivers for continued disinvestment that may be expected to continue, absent a publicly funded intervention;

(b) The neighborhood’s access to key assets, such as quality grocery stores, banks, health clinics and doctors’ offices, local schools, child care facilities, parks and recreational facilities, and public transit. Identify key neighborhood anchor institutions, such as major employers, universities, or hospitals that can reliably be expected to continue to provide significant economic activity;

(c) Relevant developmental and social assets in the target neighborhood as these assets relate to opportunities for resident education, employment, health, mobility and safety;

(d) Challenges and gaps in neighborhood services and assets; and

(e) A household-level needs assessment for public and/or assisted housing residents living in the target development(s) to…