07.15.19

Cantwell announces $1.6M in new affordable housing grants for Richland, Kennewick

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced the City of Richland will receive $629,814 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and $309,246 from HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). In addition, the City of Kennewick will receive $663,930 from the CDBG grant program.

The funding will help build new affordable housing units in the Tri-Cities.

The CDBG program helps support home ownership, housing rehabilitation, public improvements, and economic development projects in communities throughout the country. Since 1974, the program has invested more than $153 billion in communities nationwide, and it has helped leverage $4.09 in non-CDBG funding for every $1.00 of funding given out.

The HOME program is the federal government’s only block grant program to help state and local governments create more affordable housing units for low-income families. The program has created more than 1.3 million units since 1992 and provided direct rental assistance to more than 356,000 low-income families nationwide. It serves urban, suburban, and rural communities, providing resources for seniors, persons with disabilities, homeless families and individuals, and military veterans.

Senator Cantwell has long been a supporter of the CDBG program and the HOME program. She has also prioritized investment in affordable housing, helping to secure nearly $3 billion in additional affordable housing funding in March 2018 and introducing legislation earlier this year to increase investment in affordable housing and provide more resources and stronger protections for at-risk groups.