The City of Suffolk will receive $971,444, for the purchase and redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes and residential properties.June 8, 2009 SUFFOLK VA NEWS -- The City of Suffolk will receive $971,444, a portion of an award of $17.5 million that has been issued to Virginia through federal neighborhood stabilization funding, for purchasing and rehabilitating foreclosed homes in certain economically troubled localities, so that they can be resold to low-to-moderate income families. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) was established for the purpose of stabilizing communities that have suffered from foreclosures and abandonment through the purchase and redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes and residential properties. NSP has allocated $38,749,931 to the Virginia program, $2,807,300 to Fairfax County, and $4,134,612 to Prince William County, in accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of the $17.5 million, $15 million is directed to 29 high-need neighborhoods, and will result in the rehabilitation of approximately 136 homes at a discount price. The remaining $2.5 million, which will be administered in collaboration with the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, will address neighborhoods in the Sensey Corridor, Stephens City, Northwest and Central Front Royal and Pendleton. The announcement of the $17.5 million NSP award, came during a meeting between Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner; Congressmen Frank Wolf, Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly; Northern Virginia state legislators and more than 200 citizens to hear firsthand housing issues and proposed solutions from Virginia's mortgage brokers, homebuilders, realtors, housing advocates, and local government officials. Additionally, attending the forum meeting was Michael S. Barr, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Governor Kaine said: "We have worked quickly to put together an effective program to address the impact of foreclosures across the state. Virginia is not immune from our national economic problems, and we are continuing to take steps to ease the housing crisis by finding and applying solutions." "This forum is an opportunity for all the needed partners to hear from each other on the issues facing housing in Virginia. This forum builds upon the work of the Virginia Foreclosure Prevention Task Force and our collective efforts to date" Virginia's foreclosure rate has increased sevenfold from 0.24% in 2006 to 1.73% in 2008, with approximately 16,000 foreclosed homes remaining vacant around the Commonwealth. The $17.5 million will be distributed as follows:
Finally, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program is a component of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Moreover, NSP grantees develop their own programs and funding priorities. However, NSP grantees must use at least 25 percent of the funds appropriated for the purchase and redevelopment of abandoned or foreclosed homes or residential properties that will be used to house individuals or families whose incomes do not exceed 50 percent of the area median income. All activities funded by NSP must benefit low and moderate-income persons whose income does not exceed 120 percent of area median income. Virginia's Neighborhood Stabilization Program is administered through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. # # # |
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