Funding Will Help Rehab Low-Income Housing, Create Handicap Accessibility

Assemblymen Herb Conaway Jr., M.D. and Troy Singleton (both D-Burlington) are pleased to announce the awarding of $600,000 in grants for the City of Burlington to help rehabilitate low-income housing and make the city's nearly 100-year-old Memorial Hall handicap accessible.

"This program has always been helpful in meeting the long-standing needs of our cities when taxpayer-funded resources are scarce," said Conaway. "For older buildings, in particular, the cost to make them ADA-compliant can be exorbitant and a hefty burden for small cities to bear."

"It's nice to see these much-needed projects getting a boost without adding any burden on the local taxpayer," said Singleton. "Improving our housing stock for low-income families will, in turn, boost their quality of life."

Specifically, the city will receive:

- $200,000 to rehabilitate up to 10 single family, low income owner-occupied homes; and

- $400,000 to correct ADA-deficiencies and install or reconstruct ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps at the city's Memorial Hall.

The funding was awarded through the state Department of Community Affairs' Small Cities Community Development Block Grant program, which receives funding from the federal government for economic development, housing rehabilitation, community revitalization and public facilities designated to benefit people of low and moderate-income or prevent or eliminate blight or to address recent local needs for which no other source of funding is available.

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