New Haven Independent

The federal government’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program provides funding for municipalities to purchase and rehabilitate homes in foreclosure. Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program has been slowly working its way through the appropriate channels since it was allocated last September. Chrissy Bonanno (pictured), the city’s deputy director of economic development, is trying to make sure that New Haven gets its share.

New Haven has qualified for $3.2 million of the $25 million dollars that HUD is sending to Connecticut. The program includes a total national budget of $4 billion, which is being dispersed to states, and then on to cities throughout the country.

It is a stipulation of funding that municipalities’ planning boards give their approval to receive funds. That’s why Bonanno appeared before the City Plan Commission on Wednesday night. The board gave its unanimous approval to the plan.

The item was a last-minute addition to the agenda, since time is of the essence with this project. The city has only 18 months to spend all $3.2 million, and the first 25 percent has to be allocated within 90 days. The clock starts ticking as soon as the state signs its contract with the feds, which Bonanno expects to happen in the next four weeks.

Bonanno told that board that 15 of the city’s 19 census tracts meet the program’s requirements as “areas of greatest need.” Neighborhoods likely to benefit from the program include The Hill, Dwight, West River, Beaver Hill, Amity, Edgewood, Newhallville, Dixwell, Fair Haven, and the Annex. Bonanno said that the city has “targeted zones down to the block level.”

She estimated that the $3.2 million would be enough to purchase, rehabilitate, maintain, and sell 25 units of housing at a cost of about $130,000 per unit. Bonanno anticipates that the city will be “working directly with banks to do bulk purchases” of foreclosed homes.

“This is for acquisition and rehab of homes that have been foreclosed upon,” Bonanno explained. “The purpose is to get houses as quickly as possible before deferred maintenance sets in… to avoid gut rehabs.” Rehabilitation could include testing and abatement for lead and asbestos.

“The main priority is to responsibly allocate these funds so we can qualify for more dollars,” Bonanno said. She explained that funding not spent by cities quickly could be reallocated to other cities.

Bonanno speculated that President Obama’s new stimulus package may put more money into neighborhood stabilization, in which case New Haven’s total funding could be more than the current figure of $3.2 million.

The city is “strong candidate for second-round funding,” said Bonanno. She mentioned the city’s partnerships with ROOF, the Community Loan Fund, and Yale University, which “create capacity for us to be able to move funds efficiently.”

“We’re stimulating the economy and protecting the housing stock,” Bonanno said.

The plan next needs to meet the approval of the Board of Aldermen.