HUD may rescind over a billion dollars earmarked for green building upgrades.
$1.4 billion of funding is in limbo amidst federal clawbacks to a program providing support for green building retrofits to affordable housing developments. As a result, renovations to the buildings have been halted, as the risk of losing Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) financing puts the complex web of funding required for most affordable housing upgrades in jeopardy.
“Financing affordable housing developments usually involves a complex capital stack, since providers don’t have the luxury of raising rents to cover their costs. Grants and loans under HUD’S retrofit program helped to close financing gaps for upgrades that otherwise wouldn’t be feasible,” reports Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reports that while the Green and Resilient Retrofit program has not yet been cancelled, any project that hasn’t closed their transaction with HUD is at risk. That encompasses most of the projects funded by the program.
The article gives several examples from the ground of renovation projects stalled, including asbestos removal, insulation improvements, and energy efficiency upgrades.
FULL STORY: Affordable Housing Developers Stalled by Blocked Federal Funds
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association