Mayor Pete O’Geary announced that the City of Henderson has received notice of grant award of $1 million from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The city applied for the HOPE VI Main Street grant in August 2008.
O’Geary stated that receipt of this grant is a tremendous boost to the city in its efforts to help revitalize the downtown business district and to help provide safe and decent housing. He praised Planning and Community Development Director Erris Dunston for her role in communicating with Federal officials and for writing the grant application.
The new grant will be used in conjunction with the previous Hope VI grant of $1 million to provide for housing in the downtown. The new grant will provide for twelve housing units, and, when coupled with the previous grant that provides for eighteen housing units, the city will soon have 30 new housing units available within the downtown area.
A key component of the grant is that the private investors also have to contribute funding towards the project. The property owners have been identified and are “on-board” with the project. It is estimated that private investment in excess of $500,000 will be provided.
The combined public and private partnership for this project will result in an estimated excess of $2.5 million in investment in downtown Henderson.
The unique feature of these grants is that the upper floors in several downtown buildings will be converted to residential use. Many of these upper floors are vacant. Not only will we be providing a boost to downtown redevelopment, but people will be offered an alternative for safe and decent housing, in addition to the potential of increasing the tax base.
For more information about the grant, please contact Erris Dunston at 252.430.5721.