The city of Austin is seeking up to $10 million in federal funding through the Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) to Housing Grant, according to a press release by the city of Austin. The funding, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), aims to address barriers and boost affordable housing production and preservation.
As part of the grant application process, the city of Austin is seeking feedback from residents to help guide the potential impacts of these federal dollars locally. The city outlined that if the grant is awarded, the funding will be used for various purposes, including updating housing policy plans, enhancing developer incentive programs, deploying opportunity mapping, improving the Affordable Housing Online Search Tool (AHOST), and assisting community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in promoting community-based affordable housing developers. (Source)
The PRO Housing initiative aims to support communities in eliminating obstacles to affordable housing and making housing more accessible and cost-effective in the long run. These obstacles, often regulatory, have hindered affordable housing production and access, disproportionately impacting underserved communities, particularly people of color and low-income individuals. This has exacerbated eviction and homelessness risks and limited opportunities for generational wealth building. (Source)
“By offering this grant opportunity, HUD recognizes that communities across the U.S. are suffering from a lack of affordable housing and housing production isn’t meeting demand,” explains Rosie Truelove, Director for the Housing Department, according to a press release by the city of Austin. “Here in Austin, supply constraints are increasing housing costs, reducing affordability over the long term. Our proposed activities will integrate more funding for our equitable housing initiatives to create affordable units and stretch our efforts to affirmatively further fair housing.”
The PRO to Housing Grant is part of HUD’s initiative to address the affordable housing crisis, with $85 million available for competitive grants in line with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) framework. The City of Austin’s application for the grant reflects its commitment to improving housing affordability and accessibility for its residents.
