Human Services News

From HUD Press Releases:

Three local housing developments in Blacksburg, Virginia; Palm Desert, California; and Denton Texas are the recipients of the 2007 Best in American Living Award for their design excellence and innovative approaches in affordable homeownership.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said each of the distinctive developments is the product of a cooperative public/private venture to expand homeownership opportunities for underserved American families.

Each year, Professional Builder Magazine and the National Association of Home Builders sponsor the Best in American Living Awards to recognize innovation in a wide variety of building and design categories.

HUD helps to select those unique housing developments that demonstrate particular excellence in creating affordable homeownership through public and private collaboration.

"These housing developments are proof that lower income families can hope to find the best quality homes with cutting-edge features and at a price they can afford," said Jackson.

The distinctive aspect of the Roanoke and Lee Street Housing Project's application is the quality of the infill project in maximizing funding sources to subsidize the construction costs and to purchase financing; using green, sustainable building materials and systems; using Energy-Star materials and achieving Energy-Star home rating to reduce the utility consumption and impact on the environment; using water conservation and minimizing construction waste; quality of the design in the context of the existing neighborhood that targets homebuyers with incomes of less than 60 percent of the area median income (AMI).

The home was offered at $173,500, which is below the median home price of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of $188,900.

The project received a Gold Award for innovation in both technology and financing.

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