The White House's latest effort to address
The Biden administration rolled out new initiatives on Tuesday, including $100 million in grant funding for communities that eliminate restrictions on home construction and preservation, plus $250 million in financing for so-called legacy renovation and reuse projects.
The initiative also comes as Vice President Kamala Harris, who is poised to officially replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee next week, seeks to carve out her own policy agenda.
The White House statement said the "president and vice president have been laser-focused on lowering housing costs for renters and homeowners alike."
The $100 million of new grant funding will go toward the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing initiative. Administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, PRO Housing is a competitive program for municipalities, states, metropolitan planning organizations and multi-jurisdictional entities aiming to remove barriers to new construction. Grants range from $1 million to $7 million.
Earlier this year, HUD announced the first round of PRO Housing recipients, who received a total of $85 million worth of grants.
"This funding is designed to cut red tape, and make sure that we're building more homes, especially affordable homes, with urgency because people need help now," said HUD acting Secretary Adrianne Todman in a press release. "The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to reduce housing costs by increasing our nation's housing supply and our partnerships with local communities are critical to achieving this goal."
The focus on regulatory hurdles to construction is one that has been broadly endorsed by housing advocates as well as policymakers across the ideological spectrum. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign website has also called for cutting "unnecessary regulations that raise housing costs."
HUD also said it would offer $250 million in low-interest loans for "transformative housing investments," such as commercial-to-residential conversions, preservation and restoration projects, housing-related infrastructure improvements and manufactured housing production.
Manufactured housing — homes that are prefabricated in part or entirely in factories at lower costs than traditional on-site construction — has been a focal point under the Biden administration. In its announcement Tuesday, HUD said it is close to finalizing changes to its code for manufactured home construction and safety standards that would streamline production and facilitate economies of scale.
As part of the government-wide approach spearheaded by the White House, the Department of Transportation, which has its own lending programs for conversion projects near mass transit hubs, said it would roll back certain environmental analysis requirements for developments that do not expand the footprint of existing buildings.
The White House will also expand the government's financing of affordable, low-income apartment developments through the Federal Housing Administration's Multifamily Risk Sharing Program with the Federal Financing Bank, which offers low-cost financing to local housing development authorities. The administration will aim to put a floor and cap on interest rates by "collaring" them
"The Treasury-HUD rate collar initiative will help reduce the cost to construct more affordable housing that is so urgently needed in neighborhoods across the country," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a press release. "Treasury will continue to do everything in our power to make housing more affordable for Americans and unlock greater economic prosperity."
