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In the U.S. government’s FY22 budget, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) received $25 million and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) received $5 million for Thriving Communities programs. The Thriving Communities program (“TCP”) strengthens local capacity to advance and execute transformative infrastructure investments in underserved and lower-resourced communities through a coordinated approach to connect transportation and infrastructure investments funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with other crucial investments like housing.

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While these amounts are small and the competition high this year, the TCP could continue (and potentially grow) in coming years, as the House-passed FY23 appropriations bill includes&nbsp;$100 million&nbsp;for DOT and the Senate Democrats’ draft appropriations bill includes&nbsp;$25 million&nbsp;for the program.

To apply to receive DOT assistance, submit a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/thriving-communities-program-letter-of-interest">Letter of Interest</a>&nbsp;(“LOI”)&nbsp;by 11:59 p.m. EST December 6, 2022. To apply to provide assistance as a DOT Capacity Builder, apply to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/thriving-communities/nofo-fy22">Notice of Funding Opportunity</a>&nbsp;(“NOFO”)&nbsp;by 11:59 p.m. EST November 22, 2022.

To apply to be a HUD Technical Assistance provider, respond to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/nofos/thriving-communities.html">NOFO</a>&nbsp;by 11:59 p.m. EST November 22, 2022. HUD has not yet released applications for Units of General Local Governments to apply to receive technical assistance.

DOT’s Thriving Communities Program:

DOT’s TCP facilitates the planning and development of transportation and community revitalization activities and provides tools to ensure that under-resourced communities can access the historic funding provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The program will be administered by the Build America Bureau as part of its broader efforts to provide technical assistance to communities.

Beginning in 2023, the TCP will provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building support to teams of community partners that may lack the staffing or technical expertise to scope, fund, and develop infrastructure projects that advance broader community goals.

The TCP will provide two years of deep-dive assistance to selected communities to help them plan and develop a pipeline of comprehensive transportation, housing, and community revitalization activities.

In addition, through the TCP, DOT will fund organizations to provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building support to enable selected recipient communities to plan and develop transportation and community revitalization activities that:

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Reduce pollution from transportation sources

Enhance connections to health care, education, and food security

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Those eligible to receive assistance through the DOT TCP are:&nbsp;

Local, state, or tribal governments including pueblos or villages 

Other political subdivisions of state or local governments 

The TCP will prioritize support to disadvantaged communities and others that face capacity challenges.

DOT is establishing as a prerequisite to eligibility that these governmental entities form coalitions, referred to as Community Partnerships (as described in the LOI), with organizations from within and outside the government. The composition of these Community Partnerships will be at the discretion of each technical assistance recipient and identified in their LOI, but could include other government entities, nonprofits, non-governmental and community-based organizations, labor unions, advocacy groups, chambers of commerce and major employers or anchor institutions, and philanthropic organizations.

Those eligible to provide assistance as a lead applicant through the DOT TCP are:&nbsp;

State or local governments and their agencies (such as transit agencies or metropolitan planning organizations)

Other technical assistance providers with a demonstrated capacity to develop and provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building

Priority is given to applicants that demonstrate experience working with state, local, or tribal governments, U.S. territories, or other political subdivisions of state or local governments.

For more information regarding the Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Program, click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/thriving-communities">here</a>.

HUD’s Thriving Communities Program:

HUD’s Thriving Communities Technical Assistance program will provide funding to technical assistance providers to help local governments ensure housing needs are considered as part of their larger infrastructure investment plans, while also supporting equitable development and local economic development ecosystems in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/thriving-communities/glossary-of-terms">Disadvantaged Communities</a>. HUD anticipates no fewer than two and no more than five awards for grantees to provide technical assistance to Units of General Local Governments (“UGLGs”), as defined in the NOFO, which may also support the UGLGs’ work with non-profit and cross-sector partners serving&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/thriving-communities/glossary-of-terms">Disadvantaged Communities</a>.

The program is designed to ensure coordination and integration of transportation and housing in infrastructure planning and implementation. HUD will establish criteria for eligible beneficiaries and then work with awardees to identify, from the UGLGs that apply for assistance, those that can benefit from HUD’s TCP.

HUD’s four focus areas for this program are:

Identifying and using vacant, abandoned, or underutilized land located on or near transportation investments that is suitable for housing development (including land owned by federal, state, and local governmental entities as well as the private sector) to create location-efficient housing.

Preserving affordable housing and protecting residents and businesses from displacement as new infrastructure is deployed.

Identifying and implementing regulatory and procedural reforms to reduce unnecessary barriers to location-efficient housing that impedes housing production and increases housing development costs.

Improving coordination among public entities (for example, local housing, transportation, planning, and community development departments), state recipients of infrastructure funding, transit authorities and other quasi-public entities, the private sector, and locally based organizations in ways to support a holistic and regional approach to housing and transportation.

HUD applicants eligible to receive assistance are UGLGs, which include any city, county, town, township, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a state or territory. For the purposes of this program, this includes tribal governments.

HUD applicants eligible to provide assistance are:&nbsp;

For profit organizations other than small businesses

Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education

Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)

Nonprofits having 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Nonprofits that do not have 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

Entities that are seeking funding under the DOT’s TCP are eligible to apply if they meet HUD’s eligibility criteria under this NOFO. Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.

Those applying to provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building can apply individually or as part of a team of eligible applicants.

For more information regarding the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Thriving Communities Program, click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/nofos/thriving-communities.html">here</a>.

For more information or assistance, contact <a href="/people/joan-m-bondareff/" type="poa_person" id="13">Joan Bondareff</a>, <a href="/people/genevieve-cowan/" type="poa_person" id="469">Genevieve Cowan</a>, <a href="/people/katie-kachel/" type="poa_person" id="474">Katie Kachel</a>, <a href="/people/don-norden/" type="poa_person" id="475">Don Norden</a>, Addison Sheppard, Richard Sherman, <a href="/people/cj-zane/" type="poa_person" id="10">C.J. Zane</a>, or another member of the <a href="https://www.blankromegr.com/#splash-skip">Blank Rome Government Relations LLC</a> team.

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©2022 Blank Rome LLP. All rights reserved. Please contact Blank Rome for permission to reprint. Notice: The purpose of this update is to identify select developments that may be of interest to readers. The information contained herein is abridged and summarized from various sources, the accuracy and completeness of which cannot be assured. This update should not be construed as legal advice or opinion, and is not a substitute for the advice of counsel.

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$30 Million in Funding from HUD and DOT for Thriving Communities Programs

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