118 HR 3178 IH: Grayfield Redevelopment and Economic Advancement Through Effective Repurposing and Revitalization of Shopping Centers Act of 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-05-10
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3178
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 10, 2023
Mr. Cleaver (for himself and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize grants to assist in redeveloping abandoned shopping centers, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Grayfield Redevelopment and Economic Advancement Through Effective Repurposing and Revitalization of Shopping Centers Act of 2023” or the “GREATER Revitalization of Shopping Centers Act of 2023”.
2.

Grayfields shopping centers redevelopment grants
(a)

Grants
Section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(s)

Shopping center redevelopment grants
(1)

Authority
In conjunction with notes or other obligations issued by eligible public entities or designated public agencies for the purpose of financing projects that meet the criteria under paragraph (2) and that are guaranteed under this section, the Secretary may make grants to those eligible public entities or designated public agencies in connection with those guarantees for the purpose of enhancing the security of the notes or obligations or improving the viability of projects financed with those notes or obligations.
(2)

Project requirements
A project meets the criteria under this paragraph only if the project—
(A)
is designed to eliminate blight, including on a spot basis, through redevelopment and revitalization of facilities that—
(i)
were originally developed as shopping centers,
(ii)
consist of an enclosed facility covering not less than 20 acres,
(iii)
contain—
(I)
not less than 40 individual storefronts of which less than 30 percent are occupied at the time the grant is awarded, or
(II)
2 or more vacant major department stores, grocery stores, or other large chain stores having substantial economic strength and occupying substantial square footage of the facility, and
(iv)
include a common parking area;
except that the Secretary may establish alternative criteria to the requirements under this subparagraph for eligibility of shopping centers for assistance as the Secretary considers appropriate; and
(B)
meets such requirements as the Secretary shall establish to ensure that the project promotes—
(i)
transit-oriented development;
(ii)
reclaiming and re-use of grayfields;
(iii)
development of affordable housing;
(iv)
removal of existing grayfield infrastructure;
(v)
such other priorities as the Secretary considers appropriate, including with respect to smaller jurisdictions and non-metropolitan areas; or
(vi)
any 2 or more of the priorities specified in or pursuant to this subparagraph.
(3)

Amount
The amount of a grant pursuant to this section may not exceed $5,000,000.
(4)

Matching requirement
The Secretary shall require each eligible public entity or designated public agency to which a grant is made pursuant to this subsection to contribute to the project for which the grant is made an amount from sources other than the grant, including local and State tax abatements, in-kind contributions, and Federal tax incentives, that exceeds 50 percent of the amount of the grant.
(5)

Preference
In making grants pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible public entities and designated public agencies based on the extent to which—
(A)
the amount proposed to be contributed pursuant to paragraph (4) exceeds the minimum amount required by such paragraph to be contributed;
(B)
the project reflects the results of extensive community engagement; and
(C)
the project would benefit lower-income, underserved communities.
(6)

Technical assistance
(A)

HUD
The Secretary shall, in accordance with section 102 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545), provide technical guidance and assistance to applicants for grants under this subsection regarding—
(i)
how to apply for grants under this subsection; and
(ii)
how to avoid conflicts relating to using funding pursuant to this section in conjunction with Federal tax-exempt financing.
(B)

Local
An eligible public entity or designated public agency receiving a grant under this subsection may use not more than 25 percent of the grant amounts to obtain technical assistance from local qualified service providers regarding combining that assistance with other financing with—
(i)
other Federal assistance, including the New Markets Tax Credits program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program under sections 45D and 42, respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
(ii)
other State assistance, tax credits, and incentives, including tax-increment financing and other bonding instruments.
(7)

Reports
(A)

HUD
For each fiscal year for which grants are made under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress, not later than 90 days after the end of such fiscal year, that identifies—
(i)
each project assisted with such grant amounts;
(ii)
the amount of non-Federal funds contributed to the project; and
(iii)
how the grant amounts were used.
(B)

GAO
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the Congress analyzing the effectiveness of the program for grants under this section and making recommendations to improve future outcomes among shopping mall redevelopment and revitalization projects and similar subsidy programs administered in conjunction with Federal loan guarantees.
(8)

Definitions
In this subsection:
(A)

Transit-oriented development
The term transit-oriented development means a project that—
(i)
enhances economic development and achieve other goals established during the project development and engineering processes;
(ii)
facilitates multimodal transportation connectivity and accessibility;
(iii)
increases access to transit hubs for pedestrian and bicycle traffic;
(iv)
enables mixed-use development;
(v)
identifies infrastructure needs associated with the project; and
(vi)
includes private sector participation.
(B)

Grayfield
The term grayfield means an economically obsolescent, outdated, failing, moribund, or underused real estate asset.
(9)

Funding
There is authorized to be appropriated for grants under this subsection $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, which amounts shall remain available until expended.”.
(b)

CDBG loan guarantee cap
Subject to section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a), during each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, commitments to guarantee loans under section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308), any part of which is guaranteed, shall not exceed a total principal amount of $500,000,000, notwithstanding any aggregate limitation on outstanding obligations guaranteed in subsection (k) of such section 108.