City News

Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today allocated $43.9 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding to the City of Tuscaloosa for long-term recovery, to promote economic revitalization and to restore housing and infrastructure. “We are very pleased with this allocation. This is the one of largest single grants in our City's history, and is the investment Tuscaloosa needs. Quite frankly, its impact is transformational,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox. “This will help the City make major strides in accomplishing the projects the citizens of Tuscaloosa have identified in the Tuscaloosa Forward development process,” said Robin Edgeworth, director of recovery operations for the City of Tuscaloosa. Of the $50.5 billion emergency aid package for Hurricane Sandy, $16 billion went to HUD's CDBG-DR program, primarily for victims of Sandy but also those affected by other federally-declared disasters since 2011. Today marks the second of three allocation announcements since President Barrack Obama signed the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 into law January 29. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today allocated nearly $120 million throughout the State of Alabama to help local communities to recover from severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in 2011. The funding announced today supplements the nearly $56 million HUD allocated throughout Alabama in January of 2012, of which Tuscaloosa was awarded $16.6 million.For official press release, click here