HUD Provides $12M in Brownfields Redevelopment Funds

SEATTLE-The US Department of Housing and Urban Development late last week committed to providing the City of Seattle $12 million in grant and loan guarantee assistance for the redevelopment of contaminated, underutilized properties. The award includes a $2-million grant from the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative and $10 million in Section 108 loan funds.The funding was part of $24.6 million in grants and about $119 million in loan guarantee assistance announced by HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. The overall funding is expected to stimulate nearly 7,000 jobs.

Since 2002, the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development has administered about $13 million in brownfields funds with previous BEDI and Section 108 loan funds. The money was used to assist in five redevelopment projects in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. The projects involved the Cadillac Hotel; 211 First Avenue South; Buttnick Building; City Loan Building, and 210 Alaskan Way South.The new round of funds will be used to clean and redevelop brownfields in Southeast Seattle, the Central Area and the International District. The goal of the HUD programs is to return the sites to productive uses that will increase job opportunities for the city’s low- and moderate-income residents, according to HUD regional director John Meyers. The city’s Office of Economic Development will administer the grant funds.