Acquisition / relocation funding

[NJVAplnr]

Hey gang - need some assistance/advice here.

In short, I'm in the process of working on a massive acquisition and relocation project (CDBG-funded). Whereas most of the funding will come from CDBG, there will be a major gap in funding due to the current economy. There is no way the locality can foot the remaining bill.

That being said, is anyone aware of any grant programs that address acquisition and relocation? (There seems to be a bunch of money for housing rehab/weatherization, etc. but none for a&r). At this point, we would need roughly $1 million to complete half the project and $3 million to complete the whole thing. We looked at Hazard Mitigation money from DHS but that is only for floodplain properties, of which this is not. Would my best try be for pleading from local, private organizations/foundations?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks, guys!

[OfficialPlanner]

It's a long shot, but maybe Neighborhood Stabilization funding.

[stroskey]

We have a federal lead grant that allows for relocation and a NSP grant that allows for acquisition. The grants are around but don't come up often. I'd say NSP is your best bet.

[vdubluv]

I think you are going to have a hard time layering the CDBG and NSP funds and staying within the confines of each program. As far as other sources, I am not aware of any other than those mentioned unless you have some sort of mechanism at the state level. On a side note, I will say we avoid relocation like the plague. It is messy and expensive and budgeting for it appropriately is difficult. Not to mention the recordkeeping for monitoring purposes. We have explicitly written it out of our RARAP for our rehab programs. We are a fairly young City that is only 40% built out which gives us this luxury though.
Good Luck!

[Rygor]

If it's in a TIF you can use that money for acquisition. If not, perhaps you could establish one in the area, though it would take a lot of time and money. Project-based TIF's are pretty common in some places, such as Chicago. Not sure how the TIF laws work where you are, though.

[Queen B]

How rural is it? Rural development?