Newport News Receives $500K Federal Grant from HUD

Newport News, the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Marshall/Ridley community received a $500,000 grant June 28 from the the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to stimulate affordable housing and economic development in the Marshall/Ridley neighborhood.

The grant, one of 10 awards totaling $8 million funded through HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, will help local leaders to craft a comprehensive, homegrown plan to revitalize and transform the neighborhood, the department said in a news release. The initiative promotes a comprehensive approach to transforming neighborhoods struggling to address the challenges of distressed housing, inadequate schools, poor health, high crime, and lack of capital.

“This Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant comes at a critical juncture for this community as state and federal government agencies have proposed to widen nearby Interstate 664,” said Jane C.W. Vincent, HUD’s regional administrator for the Mid-Atlantic region. “A strong plan for Marshall/Ridley will insure this investment contributes to the neighborhood’s rebirth and aligns with the creation of new mix-income housing, improvements in neighborhood schools and a reclaimed sense of community.”