Suffolk News-Herald

Accentuating the city’s neighborhood development initiatives, Suffolk received word Friday that it will receive $1.2 million in federal money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city has been awarded $652,000 in Community Development Block Grant and $551,530 in HOME funds this year, according to the agency. Suffolk is one of 13 cities and counties in Virginia that received the HUD funding.

Some facts about the two funding sources:

-The CDBG program has awarded over $108 billion to state and local governments to target their own community development priorities over the past 30 years. CDBG is one of HUD’s oldest and most popular programs. The rehabilitation of affordable housing has traditionally been the largest single use of the grants although CDBG is also an important catalyst for job growth and business opportunities. CDBG funds are distributed by formula around the country based on a community’s population, income levels, poverty rates and the age of its housing stock.

-HOME (HOME Investment Partnerships Program) is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to produce affordable housing for low-income families. Since 1992, more than 600 communities have committed to produce nearly 785,000 affordable housing units, including almost 300,000 for new homebuyers purchasing their first home. In addition, over 100,000 tenants have received direct rental assistance.

Other state localities who receive funding will be Bristol, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Danville, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Lynchburg, Newport News, Radford, Richmond, Roanoke and Chesterfield County.