HUD’s HOPE VI Program

In 2011 HUD awarded $152.7 million to eight cities across the country to transform severely distressed public housing developments into mixed-income communities. Six of the grantees will be funded from FY 2010 HOPE VI appropriations; two awards will come from FY 2011 funding. WRT has worked with nearly one quarter of the 133 housing authority grantees resulting, in over $1 billion in grants.

Beyond HOPE VI

Established in 1992 as a national action plan in response to recommendations by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, the HOPE VI Program has provided over $6 billion in grants to eradicate severely distressed public housing and create new mixed-income neighborhoods. In 2010, building on the success of HOPE VI, HUD unveiled the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative as the next generation of neighborhood revitalization — one that intimately links housing, education, transportation, healthcare, and other support services.

What can WRT help you with?

With years of experience helping cities with integrated planning and design and successful HUD grants, in 2010 WRT worked in Albany, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Jersey City, Kansas City and Miami to evaluate neighborhood-based programs under CNI and then develop planning grant applications for four of the cities.

WRT's multidisciplinary practice is perfectly aligned with the administration strategy to leverage HUD dollars for investments by DOT, EPA, and the Departments of Energy and Educations in creating neighborhood transformation plans. Bringing its expertise and impeccable record of success in HOPE VI to help evaluate your neighborhoods eligibility and competitiveness, WRT has and can continue to provide the following services in-house and through its strategic partners:

  • Planning Coordinator Role
  • Program Evaluation and Mock Scoring
  • Grant Writing for Planning and Implementation Grants
  • Development of CNI Transformation Plans
  • Urban Planning, Design and Architecture for Implementation
  • Neighborhood Sustainability Strategies
  • Development Consulting

WRT Experience

As the nation's seminal HOPE VI architect and planner, WRT's Revitalization Plans have been awarded over $1 billion in grants for nearly a third of the participating public housing authorities, and are responsible for over 15,000 mixed-income housing units nationwide.

WRT has been a leader in HOPE VI neighborhood revitalization since the program's inception 17 years ago. Beginning with master plans for Richard Allen Homes in Philadelphia (1993) and Holly Park in Seattle (1994), WRT's work is responsible for the almost 1/5 of the Federal grants associated with HOPE VI program. With over fifty HOPE VI sites in varying stages of completion, the efforts of WRT's planners, urban designers, and architects have had positive impact on the lives of thousands of low- and moderate-income families across the country. We well understand the HOPE VI planning process, and are committed to the highest standards of physical planning and design and financial feasibility. Our work has been considered to be both excellent and innovative at HUD, and we have successfully helped our clients receive the critical funding they need in an increasingly competitive climate.

While WRT's big city portfolio includes neighborhood revitalization plans in Atlanta, Dallas, Baltimore, Chicago, Jersey City, Los Angeles, Louisville, Newark, New Orleans, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, DC, we have worked with more than two dozen small and medium size cities, some of which we help submit successful grant applications and implemented new mixed-income communities.

We are successful because for almost two decades we understood the fundamental truth in the HOPE VI program—that spatial concentration of poverty cannot be solved solely by new housing. WRT's work is structured to meet the particular needs of their housing authority or developer clients, while remaining sensitive to existing residents and the natural environment. The firm approaches "housing" as a neighborhood revitalization opportunity, harnessing non bricks-and-mortar factors such as social, cultural, education and heritage resources as well as best practices such as sustainable site and building design and walkable, transit-friendly communities.

WRT's HOPE VI Record

State Authority / City Year Amount ($)
NJ Paterson 2010 $18,400,000
NJ Trenton 2009 22,000,000
KY Covington 2009 17,000,000
NJ Long Branch 2005 20,000,000
PA Allentown 2004 20,000,000
TX El Paso 2004 20,000,000
NJ Camden 2003 20,000,000
MS Meridian 2003 17,281,075
DC Washington 2003 20,000,000
PA Allegheny County 2002 20,000,000
GA Columbus 2002 20,000,000
TX Dallas 2002 20,000,000
WI Milwaukee 2002 19,000,000
AL Birmingham 2003 20,000,000
FL Orlando 2002 18,084,255
IL Winnebago County 2002 18,847,938
GA Atlanta 2001 35,000,000
IL Chicago 2001 35,000,000
MD Hagerstown 2001 27,357,875
NJ Jersey City 2001 34,140,000
PA Philadelphia 2001 34,825,000
NJ Camden 2000 35,000,000
TN Chattanooga 2000 35,000,000
CA Oakland 2000 34,486,116
GA Atlanta 1999 35,000,000
NJ Atlantic City 1999 35,000,000
AL Birmingham 1999 34,957,850
NJ Newark 1999 35,000,000
PA Allegheny County 1998 2,549,392
OK Tulsa 1998 28,640,000
NY Buffalo 1997 28,015,038
NJ Elizabeth 1997 28,903,755
PA Philadelphia 1997 26,400,951
FL Tampa 1997 32,500,000
FL Jacksonville 1996 21,552,000
LA New Orleans 1996 25,000,000
NC Wilmington 1996 11,620,655
WA Seattle 1995 48,116,503
PA Philadelphia 1993 50,000,000
    Amount Awarded: $1,024,678,403