[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 175 (Monday, September 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47523-47525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22894]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4065-N-04]


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development; Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and Program 
Guidelines for the Economic Development Initiative (EDI) Program; 
Amendment and Extension of Application Due Date

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Amendment and Extension of Application Due Date for Notice of 
Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Economic Development Initiative 
Grant Program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On July 16, 1996, the Department published a Notice of Funding 
Availability (NOFA) in the Federal Register announcing the availability 
of approximately $50,000,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 funding for the 
Economic Development Initiative (EDI) program. This notice amends that 
NOFA to establish set-asides of up to $30 million in EDI grant funds to 
fund proposals for Homeownership Zones, and of up to $20 million for 
proposals for Community and Individual Investment Corporations (CIICs) 
and all other eligible economic development projects. In order to 
provide applicants due notice of this amendment, this notice also 
extends the application due date.

DATES: Applications are due in HUD Headquarters at the address stated 
below under Addresses by October 9, 1996. HUD will not accept 
applications that are submitted to HUD via facsimile (FAX) 
transmission. Applications that are mailed prior to October 9, 1996, 
and received within ten (10) days after that date will be deemed to 
have been received by that date if postmarked by the United States 
Postal Service by no

[[Page 47524]]

later than October 8, 1996. Overnight delivery items received within 
ten (10) days after October 9, 1996 will be deemed to have been 
received by that date upon submission of documentary evidence that they 
were placed in transit with the overnight delivery service by no later 
than October 8, 1996.

ADDRESSES: On or prior to October 9, 1996, completed applications will 
be accepted at the following address: Processing and Control Unit, Room 
7255, Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20410, Attention: EDI Grant. At close of business on the deadline date, 
completed applications will also be received in the south lobby of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development at the above address 
(inquire at the security guard desk). However, any application received 
by the Office of Community Planning and Development in Headquarters, 
Washington, DC, by October 9, 1996 will be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Webster, Director, Financial 
Management Division, Office of Block Grant Assistance, Room 7178, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20410; telephone (202) 708-1871.
    With respect to proposals for Homeownership Zones contact: Gordon 
McKay, Director, Office of Affordable Housing Programs, Office of 
Community Planning and Development, Room 7164, Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410; 
telephone (202) 708-2685. (These are not toll-free numbers.)
    Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access these numbers 
via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 16, 1996 (61 FR 37132), the 
Department published a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in the 
Federal Register announcing the availability of approximately 
$50,000,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 funding for the Economic 
Development Initiative (EDI) program. The FY 1996 EDI NOFA solicited a 
wide range of proposals for eligible economic development projects and 
activities under the EDI grant program. The NOFA particularly 
emphasized those proposals that would undertake large-scale projects to 
create Homeownership Zones--proposals designed to reclaim hard-pressed 
neighborhoods by creating homeownership opportunities for hardworking 
low- and moderate-income families, and serving as a catalyst for 
private investment, business creation, and neighborhood revitalization.
    The NOFA also solicited proposals for Community and Individual 
Investment Corporations (CIICs)--a particular type of community 
development bank that provides residents with opportunities for equity 
participation--and proposals for more traditional economic development 
projects, such as site specific economic development projects and 
grants for economic development revolving loan funds.
    The July 16, 1996, NOFA was structured so that the Department would 
rate all applications based upon the quality of an applicant's response 
to seven selection criteria. Upon the rating of the applications, the 
Department would give all proposals for Homeownership Zones and CIICs 
10 bonus points. The Department would then rank all proposals 
regardless of whether the proposal was for a Homeownership Zone, a 
CIIC, or other economic development project.
    Thus, under the procedures outlined in the July 16, 1996 NOFA, it 
is possible that the rating and ranking of applications could result in 
only one type of proposal being funded, i.e., all funded projects could 
potentially be either Homeownership Zone projects, CIIC projects, or 
the traditional economic development projects. Such an outcome would 
not reflect the Department's intention to fund a range of different 
proposals.
    Accordingly, the Department is amending the July 16, 1996 EDI NOFA 
to establish set-asides of up to $30 million to fund proposals for 
Homeownership Zones, and of up to $20 million to fund proposals for 
Community and Individual Investment Corporations and all other 
proposals for economic development projects.

    Authority. Title I, Housing and Community Development Act of 
1974, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 5301-5320); 24 CFR part 570.

    Accordingly, FR Doc. 96-18012, the NOFA and Program Guidelines for 
the Economic Development Initiative (EDI), published in the Federal 
Register on July 16, 1996 (61 FR 37132), is amended as follows:
    1. On page 37139, in column 3, section II.(D) under the heading 
``Selection Process'' is amended to read as follows:

II. The Application Process

* * * * *
    (D) Selection Process--Once all proposals are scored under the 
selection criteria above, applications for Homeownership Zones and 
CIICs will each have 10 additional points added to their total score. 
Applications will then be selected for funding in two groups as 
follows:
    (1) All applications for Homeownership Zones will be separately 
ranked in order of points assigned, with the applications receiving 
more points ranking above those receiving fewer points. Homeownership 
Zone applications will be funded in rank order until the total 
aggregate amount of applications funded is equal to $30 million 
(subject to the Department's discretion described in section II.(D)(3), 
below);
    (2) All applications for Community and Individual Investment 
Corporations and all other EDI grant applications for economic 
development projects and programs will be placed in a second group of 
applications and will be ranked in order of points assigned, with the 
applications receiving more points ranking above those receiving fewer 
points. These applications will be funded in rank order until the total 
aggregate amount of applications funded is equal to $20 million 
(subject to the Department's discretion described in section II.(D)(3), 
below);
    (3) HUD, in its sole discretion, may choose to award EDI assistance 
to a lower rated approvable application over a higher rated application 
in the same group in order to increase the level of geographic 
diversity of grants approved under this NOFA. The parameters of any 
such diversity factors used in the selection process will be described 
in writing by the panel and/or selecting official, and consistently 
applied in the final selections. However, no application will be funded 
out of rank order for geographic diversity purposes that does not have 
a selection score of at least 80 points.
    (4) As discussed in paragraph I.(F) above, HUD reserves the right 
to determine a minimum and a maximum amount of any EDI award or Section 
108 commitment per applicant, application, or project, and to modify 
requests accordingly. In addition, if HUD determines that an 
application rated, ranked, and fundable could be funded at a lesser EDI 
grant amount than requested consistent with feasibility of the funded 
project or activities and the purposes of the Act, HUD reserves the 
right to reduce the amount of the EDI award and/or increase the Section 
108 loan guarantee commitment, if necessary, in accordance with such 
determination.
    HUD may decide not to award the full amount of EDI grant funds 
available

[[Page 47525]]

under this NOFA and may make any remaining amounts available under a 
future NOFA.
    To review and rate applications, HUD may establish panels including 
persons not currently employed by HUD to obtain certain expertise and 
outside points of view, including views from other Federal agencies. 
HUD reserves the right to use two separate panels to review and rate 
applications in the two groups, and to announce the awards under the 
two groups at different times.
* * * * *
    Dated: August 30, 1996.
Howard Glaser,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
[FR Doc. 96-22894 Filed 9-4-96; 4:03 pm]
BILLING CODE 4210-29-P