Fort Worth receives $5M HUD grant to increase affordable housing

On Monday, July 1, Vice President Kamala Harris and HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is awarding $85 million in grant funding for the first ever Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program. PRO Housing aims to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation, and lower housing costs. The City of Fort Worth was awarded $5 million to build and redevelop affordable housing in historically challenged areas, among other efforts. The City of Fort Worth held a press conference on Tuesday, July 2 at the City's New City Hall announcing the grant.

PRO Housing provides grant funding to communities actively taking steps and demonstrating progress in addressing needless local housing barriers to housing production. Winners of the PRO Housing competition will update state and local housing plans, revise land use policies, streamline the permitting process for housing construction, and take other actions to create more housing-forward communities. Grants will also be used to preserve existing affordable housing units, provide development subsidies to create new affordable units, and increase access to homeownership.

"This funding will enable the City to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation, and lower housing costs," Mayor Mattie Parker, City of Fort Worth, said. "With over one-third of households burdened by high housing costs, this grant will be a crucial step in ensuring that all residents have access to affordable and quality homes. The City of Fort Worth's commitment to increasing the housing supply and reducing costs is clearly reflected in this transformative initiative for Fort Worth."

The City of Fort Worth's Neighborhood Services Department will identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation with the $5 million federal grant money. There are 109,000 households that are housing cost burdened. The City has worked to advance housing supply through financing, regulatory reform, land banking, and the use of federal resources for housing activities.

PRO Housing funding will enable Fort Worth to finance multifamily housing, streamline approval processes for affordable housing development, and facilitate redevelopment of existing parcels for housing and transit-oriented development. The funding will also allow the City to address the following:

Lack of Capital for Affordable Housing

• The City estimates that at least $3.5 billion of public and private subsidy is needed to close the gap in rental housing affordable to the 19,000 renters under 60% of the Area Median Income.

High Cost of Land/Property

• The cost of land is extremely high compared to the rest of Texas.

Inequitable and Prohibitive Land Use Policies

• Local land use policies and regulations are restrictive, preventing the construction of new homes. The City notes that institutionalized racism and historic redlining continue to impact housing development.

"This funding will enable us to build and redevelop affordable housing in historically challenged areas, streamline approval processes, and redevelop existing land for housing and transit-oriented development," Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens, District 5, said. "The PRO Housing program aims to lower housing costs, increase access to homeownership, and create more housing-forward communities. By addressing local barriers such as zoning decisions, land use policies, inefficient procedures, and inadequate infrastructure, we can meet the acute demand for affordable housing for lower-income households."

For more information, please visit: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/pro_housing/fy23awards or click here.(PDF, 491KB)