What Is The HOPE VI Program?
HOPE VI is the name of a grant program administered by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Congress created this program after recognizing that many large
inner city housing sites were collapsing.
Poor design, deferred maintenance, and decades of hard use
combined to turn these "projects" into sinkholes of poverty that
sapped economic vitality and hope from their residents.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority used HOPE VI funds in
combination with funding from both private investors and other
public entities to demolish five old sites. Those sites were then
rebuilt with attractive townhouses and garden-style apartments for
renters, homeowners, and families of all incomes. The old sites
were transformed into lower density developments that are helping
revitalize city neighborhoods. The scale of this revitalization is
far wider than ever imagined because of the breadth of partnerships
in the HOPE VI program and the power of private investment.
HOPE VI means that PHA has the flexibility to devise innovative
funding mechanisms in the same way a private property management
company does. In fact, PHA and other authorities are adopting
industry standards in operations and management, giving public
housing residents and taxpayers the most for their money.
HOPE VI also provides education, job training, and other support
to residents of these rebuilt communities so they can become
independent.
HOPE IV Grants
| HOPE VI Grants |
Demolition |
Revitalization |
Support Services |
| Martin Luther King Plaza |
0 |
$23,946,176 |
$1,283,774 |
| Schuylkill Falls |
0 |
$25,205,951 |
$1,195,000 |
| Mill Creek |
$1,248,160.00 |
$31,075,000 |
$3,750,000 |
| Cambridge Plaza |
$958,977 (requested) |
0 |
0 |
| Richard Allen Homes |
$3,484,000 |
$9,028,402 |
0 |
Why HOPE VI Makes a Difference
The HOPE VI program changes peoples' lives and the communities
where they live in several ways:
- By changing the physical shape of public housing so that it
fits with the surrounding communities instead of becoming an island
of isolation
- By establishing positive incentives for resident
self-sufficiency
- By setting expectations through strict occupancy rules
- By lessening the concentration of poverty
- By creating partnerships of opportunity between public and
private entities and investors
HOPE VI Success Stories
Seeing is believing. The HOPE VI program has transformed public
housing in Philadelphia. The Richard Allen Homes, Martin Luther
King, Jr. Plaza, Falls Ridge (formerly Schuylkill Falls) Lucien E.
Blackwell Homes (formerly Mill Creek Apartments) and Ludlow Homes
are examples of the effectiveness of this program.
