Community Development Block Grant Program Turns 40

Gov. Mike Beebe and economic development leaders lauded the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a program that celebrates its 40th year in 2014.

The CDBG program was enacted into law as part of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The purpose of the program is to “provide decent, safe and sanitary housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities to low- and moderate-income households.”

Since the program’s inception, more than $700 million in CDBG funds have been distributed throughout Arkansas communities. The program is administered through the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).

CDBG funds for small communities have traditionally been used for such projects as senior citizen centers, public health facilities, childcare centers, fire protection, community facilities, economic development projects, and water and wastewater projects.

“Most economic development begins at the local level, and the Community Development Block Grant program has helped change lives throughout Arkansas communities for 40 years,” Beebe said. “It has helped our cities and towns build and maintain the infrastructure they need for better economic conditions, one grant at a time.”

Three CDBG projects were highlighted today:

• American Vegetable Soybean and Edamame (AVS) announced plans in 2012 to open an edamame (type of soybean) processing facility in Mulberry. AVS leveraged an investment of $4.8 million with a $990,400 loan in CDBG funds.
• The McGehee Relocation Museum is a tribute to the more than 17,000 Japanese Americans relocated to Desha County after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. The City of McGehee applied for $219,000 in CDBG funds to restore and renovate the town’s old train depot. The center was officially dedicated on April 16, 2013.
• The Mississippi County Union Rescue Mission used CDBG funds totaling $264,855 to convert a former storage room into dormitory housing for women and children. Today, the Mississippi County Union Rescue Mission can house up to 50 persons at any time. In 2013, it housed a total of 29 children, 66 women, and 193 men.

“The flexibility of the CDBG program allows Arkansas to tailor funds to specifically meet the individual needs of each community recipient,” said Basil Julian, director of AEDC’s Grants Division. “Thus, some communities may have a childcare center as their top priority while others can leverage the funds to improve much-needed water/wastewater systems or purchase a new fire truck.”