Allison BarnetteMaine has announced $29 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for statewide housing initiatives. The funds, distributed through five HUD programs, will support housing, infrastructure and services in several municipalities across the state.
Maine received just 0.52% of the $5.56 billion that was distributed nationally through HUD’s Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs. In contrast, five states — California, Texas, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania — received 39% of CPD funds.
Still, Maine’s housing needs align with HUD’s mission. An aging population, a housing shortage and rural infrastructure challenges make Maine a good fit for federal support. Many communities in the state routinely apply for funding and rely on HUD block grants, which the state then distributes to smaller municipalities.
HUD offers a range of grant programs, including Section 8 housing vouchers and fair housing initiatives. The current grants target affordable housing, infrastructure and homelessness prevention. Several communities also plan to use a portion of their Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to mitigate lead in public housing and provide low-cost loans to individual homeowners for lead remediation—an important safety initiative for children under age 6.
The largest awards and municipalities in this round of grant funding include:
- Statewide: $11.86 million from the CDBG program to support housing assistance, public infrastructure, downtown revitalization and economic development.
- Statewide: $4.1 million grant from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) to provide additional funding opportunities for local projects that build, buy or rehabilitate affordable housing. The funding will also support rental assistance for low-income communities.
- Statewide: $3.13 million grant from the Housing Trust Fund to produce and maintain affordable housing units in extremely low-income communities.
- City of Portland: $1.8 million CDB grant to fund affordable housing initiatives, public services and infrastructure projects.
- Cumberland County: $1.5 million to support community development projects within the county.
- Statewide: $1.4 million to assist families and individuals in achieving stable housing following an experience with homelessness.
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