BY KEVIN DUGGAN
KevinDuggan @coloradoan.com
Fort Collins is in line to receive more than $587,000 in federal economic stimulus funding to support programs for low-income residents.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday allocated about 75 percent of the $13.6 billion earmarked in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for its programs and projects.
Colorado will receive $107 million from the allocations, with money going to state and local entities that work in a variety of areas, such as preventing homelessness and providing public housing, according to HUD.
The Fort Collins Housing Authority was allocated $316,419 from HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund.
The city’s Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, program was tabbed to receive $271,137.
Julie Brewen, executive director of the housing authority, said the stimulus money will be used to catch up on much-needed repairs to houses and apartment buildings owned by the agency.
The housing authority owns 154 units. Residents pay 30 percent of their income for rent, with HUD subsidizing the rest.
The money is intended for projects that can be put to bid within 120 days, according to HUD. The funding is to be expected to be spent in three years.
Capital improvements that are likely to be made include new roofs and replacement windows that would make homes more energy efficient, Brewen said.
Funding for repairs hasn’t kept up with costs for several years, Brewen said, so the authority has "plenty of projects line up."
The funding boost will translate to more work for local contractors the housing authority uses to make repairs, Brewen said.
"It really is stimulus in that respect," she said.
Ken Waido of the city’s Advance Planning Department, which administers CDBG funding, said officials have not yet been told how the stimulus money may be spent.
The local office is still waiting to receive its annual allocation of about $1 million that is distributed to local human service agencies for a variety of programs, including building affordable housing, Waido said.
The program has begun the process for reviewing applications for grants, he said.
Additional funding "is always needed," he said.
pay 30 percent of their income for rent, with HUD subsidizing the rest.
The money is intended for projects that can be put to bid within 120 days, according to HUD. The funding is expected to be spent in three years.
Capital improvements that are likely to be made include new roofs and replacement windows that would make homes more energy efficient, Brewen said.
Funding for repairs hasn’t kept up with costs for several years, Brewen said, so the authority has "plenty of projects line up."
The funding boost will translate to more work for local contractors the housing authority uses to make repairs, Brewen said.
"It really is stimulus in that respect," she said.
Ken Waido of the city’s Advance Planning Department, which administers CDBG funding, said officials have not yet been told how the stimulus money may be spent.
The local office is still waiting to receive its annual allocation of about $1 million that is distributed to local human service agencies for a variety of programs, including building affordable housing, Waido said.
The program has begun the process for reviewing applications for grants, he said.
Additional funding "is always needed," he said.
Additional Facts
By the numbers
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday allocated funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to these local programs:
> Fort Collins Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG – $271,137
> Loveland CDBG – $79,876
> Fort Collins Housing Authority – $316,419
> Loveland Housing Authority – $136,694
> Wellington Housing Authority – $83,653