N.D. to receive $19.6 million in community grants

North Dakota will receive $19.6 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program passed by Congress last fall to help communities deal with the housing crisis.

The North Dakota Department of Commerce Division of Community Services developed the ap-plication for the funds in December and received word last week that the application was approved. As part of that application, Commerce specified how individual communities would use the grants based on needs. Federal rules require that funds be allocated to areas of greatest needs based on foreclosures, sub-prime loans and the likelihood of additional foreclosures.

More than half of the funds will be split among Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck. The North Da-kota Housing Finance Agency will administer $6.66 million for a number of cities and their sur-rounding areas, including Jamestown and Valley City. Applications for these funds were due Jan. 15, and Housing Finance Agency is currently evaluating these applications.

The remaining funds are available to cover administration and delivery costs.

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