Hope IV Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2007
Floor Speech
HOPE VI IMPROVEMENT AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - January 17, 2008)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. NORTON. Madam Chairman, I am obliged to speak up on the HOPE VI bill before us today, particularly because of the District's track record has made this city a shining success story, the fourth largest recipient of HOPE VI funding in the Nation, and an innovative leader in HOPE VI projects spurred on by federal funds available until recently, and the District's success in obtaining HOPE VI grants. I have devoted considerable time and effort to help the city obtain these grants. The great success the city has had in the stiff, nationwide competition it has faced in seeking each grant it has won, greatly energized by its own efforts. Even now, the District of Columbia has a grant pending.
HOPE VI has been the functional equivalent of a federal government stamp of approval. The District provides a fabulous example of how a little government money can act as a magnet for private and nonprofit funds that otherwise would not be available. Having received over $140 million in HOPE VI grants, the District has been able to maximize every grant dollar, leveraging the grant awards at a ratio of 1 to 7 to attract unusually large
amounts of public and private funds, $740 million of non-government funding to five HOPE VI sites in the District.
A brief sampling of HOPE VI successes in the city illustrates the incredible economic impact that the grants have had. The H Street Barracks in Ward 6 is the hottest retail strip under HOPE VI. The District's first HOPE VI development, the Town Homes in Ward 6, not far from where we stand today, has been occupied by District residents for over eight years. In its prior life, the Town Homes was known as the Ellen Wilson Dwellings and stood abandoned for eight years, depressing the vibrancy of the surrounding community. However, a $26 million HOPE VI grant, awarded in 1993, transformed the public housing units into 134 cooperative, mixed-income town homes, with 33 families at 0 percent to 24 percent of area median income, AMI, 34 families at 25 percent to 50 percent of AMI, and 67 families at 50 percent to 115 percent of AMI.
One of the most ambitious HOPE VI projects undertaken nationwide is transforming the Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg Dwellings, a 23-acre 758-unit public housing complex near the Washington Navy Yard and the Southeast Federal Center, into a revitalized residential part of general Anacostia waterfront revitalization, one of the largest urban redevelopment areas in the country. The Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg development is the first HOPE VI site in the country to provide one-for-one replacement of demolished public housing units. The $34.9 million grant award has been leveraged to provide a total of over $424 million for the creation of 1,562 rental and home ownership units, replacing the demolished units with 707 public housing units, 525 affordable rental units and 330 market rate homes for purchase, for a total of 1,562 new units, and additional office space, neighborhood retail space and a community center.
One of the best examples of how HOPE VI grants have helped DC communities is the lowest-income ward in the District of Columbia, Ward 8, where HOPE VI developments are transforming an entire ward. Ward 8 leads the city in housing starts and new rental housing. A Giant Food grocery store near the Henson Ridge HOPE VI development is the only supermarket in the ward and the largest in the region. The Henson Ridge HOPE VI across the street gave Giant an immediate customer base and now draws the entire ward.
HOPE VI has been nothing short of a veritable economic engine to drive the reinvigoration of entire communities. It would be a national tragedy for Congress to allow HOPE VI to expire rather than building on the success of the District and other cities. The investment by the government pales in comparison to the return generated. I strongly support H.R. 3524 to reauthorize the HOPE VI program for the next eight years with up to $800 million dollars a year, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
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