U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

USDA Awards Grants to Preserve Affordable Rural Housing

Name
Samantha Evenson
City
Bismarck
Release Date

Ryan Taylor, USDA Rural Development State Director, today announced two grants to preserve and repair affordable housing for very-low- and low-income families living in rural areas.

“Affordable housing is in short supply in many parts of rural North Dakota, so getting this $140,000 for two of our housing partners to make existing housing as livable and energy efficient as possible is great news,” said Taylor. “These resources are targeted for some key areas--Turtle Mountain, recently designated a Promise Zone, where adequate housing is in very short supply, and Pierce County, a very rural county where construction of affordable housing for lower income families doesn’t always keep pace with demand. Affordable housing preservation is a huge issue, and we’re glad we can get these resources out to help make some on-the-ground progress.”

USDA is awarding Souris Basin Planning Council and Turtle Mountain Housing Authority each with a $70,000 Housing Preservation Grant. The grants will renovate a total of 26 rural housing units in Peirce County and on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.

Funding may be used to resolve health or safety issues, make accessibility modifications for people with disabilities, make energy efficiency improvements to reduce utility costs, or modernize properties. Eligible recipients include local governments, public agencies, federally recognized Indian Tribes, nonprofit organizations and faith-based and community groups. These entities then distribute the grants to homeowners and owners of multi-family rental properties or cooperative dwellings who rent to low- and very-low-income residents.

USDA has provided $826,000 in Housing Preservation Grants since 2009 in North Dakota.  These grants have been leveraged with $2.6 million to repair and rehabilitate nearly 200 homes and apartments in rural communities. To learn more about USDA programs, please call (701) 530-2037 or visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/nd.