Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) today introduced the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act, legislation that permanently authorizes and expands the Choice Neighborhoods Program. U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-05-Mo.) is leading the effort to introduce the legislation in the House.
The Choice Neighborhoods Program is a transformative grant program within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that converts severely distressed neighborhoods into high-quality, mixed-use community developments. Established in 2010, the program has provided $1.8 billion in competitive grants to localities and community organizations for comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment across dozens of distressed communities. In a recent HUD report, researchers found that in the neighborhoods studied, every dollar of Choice funding leveraged an additional $7.34 toward housing redevelopment.
“As the United States faces a severe affordable housing shortage, the Choice Neighborhoods program is a proven tool that can reinvigorate our most distressed neighborhoods and unlock their future success,” said Senator Blunt Rochester, member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “By catalyzing public and private investment, this program has successfully contributed to the preservation of affordable housing and created over 21,000 new housing units across 52 communities in America, including in my hometown of Wilmington. Making this program permanent not only ensures these transformative investments continue, but it also gives us yet another tool in our toolbox to address the housing affordability crisis in Delaware and across the country. I’m grateful to Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Cleaver for joining me in leading this effort, and I’m hopeful we can work together in both chambers to get this bill passed”
“As communities struggle to keep up with the demand for affordable housing, we must accelerate our efforts to redevelop and revitalize underserved neighborhoods. This legislation will help build on the success of the Choice Neighborhoods Program – unlocking additional public and private investment to create greater access to housing, and ultimately opportunity, across the country,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“As American families struggle with our national housing affordability crisis, we need an all-hands-on deck approach to promote the development of affordable housing and rejuvenation of public housing all over the country,” said Congressman Cleaver. “The Choice Neighborhood Program has proven to be the kind of transformative tool we need in this effort, catalyzing public and private investment in underserved areas that enables the revitalization of entire communities. Not only does this program expand the construction of affordable housing options, but it opens the door for working class families to access new opportunities and climb the economic ladder. I’m proud to introduce the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act with Senators Blunt Rochester and Van Hollen, along with Reps. Lynch, Meeks, and Torres, as we seek to permanently reauthorize this vital work and strengthen the program in the process.”
“I am thrilled that Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester is sponsoring legislation to permanently authorize and expand the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act. I have said often that it is one of my favorite HUD programs. It invests in distressed communities to improve housing as well as the quality of life for residents and overall health of the neighborhood,” said Delaware State Housing Authority Director Matthew Heckles. “We know that effective policies are part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis, and this is a prime example of one that we know works and deserves stable funding.”
“As a recent HUD Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant recipient, our experience with the program has been extremely positive,” said Logan Herring, CEO of The WRK Group. “Choice funding has accelerated our neighborhood plan significantly, with 250 new mixed income homes in or beginning construction just two years after the award. In addition, we’ve been able to leverage over $150 million in additional funding with this grant and the HUD staff has been professional, responsive, and knowledgeable – great to work with. We enthusiastically support this bill to continue and expand the Choice program.”
“The Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) wholeheartedly endorses the ‘Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2025,’” said Ray Fitzgerald, executive director of the Wilmington Housing Authority. “As a recipient of a previous Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) grant, WHA can speak firsthand to the benefit of the program. The funds committed to our project will help us build over 700 mixed income housing units, most of which are affordable, that will support vulnerable citizens. In addition, receiving these funds will help us complete this project in 8 years opposed to the 20+ year time frame without the funds.”
“The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) revitalizes distressed public housing and nearby areas through community-driven redevelopment,” said Mark Thiele, CEO of NAHRO. “By focusing on housing, people, and neighborhoods, it makes communities safer and more vibrant, creating opportunities without displacing residents. Continued support for CNI is essential to creating lasting positive change in communities nationwide. NAHRO proudly endorses the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2025. This act will help transform areas of extreme poverty into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods by redeveloping distressed housing and investing in communities.”
“PHADA supports the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2025,” said Tim Kaiser, executive director of Public Housing Authorities Directors Association (PHADA). “Permanently authorizing the Choice Neighborhoods program—which leverages public and private funding to revitalize public housing developments and their surrounding neighborhoods—will ensure this program remains a vital tool to address the capital needs backlog. PHADA remains committed to advocating for robust funding and resources for public housing programs, including Choice Neighborhoods.”
This legislation has been endorsed by: the American Planning Association; Catholic Charities USA; Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity; Congress for the New Urbanism; Delaware State Housing Authority; Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County; Housing Alliance Delaware; Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC); National Association of REALTORS; National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO); National Center for Healthy Housing; National Urban League; National League of Cities; NeighborGood Partners; Public Housing Authorities Directors Association (PHADA); REACH Riverside Development Corporation; Sussex County Habitat for Humanity; UnidosUS; Wilmington Housing Authority; Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank; and YWCA Delaware.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
A one-pager can be found here.
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.