SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Choice Neighborhoods 
Initiative Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANT AUTHORITY. 
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
may make competitive grants to eligible entities that sub-
mit transformation plans for eligible neighborhoods that 
will further the purposes of this Act in such neighbor-
hoods. 
SEC. 3. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. 
(a) PRIMARY APPLICANTS.—A grant under this Act 
may be made only to a unit of local government, a public 
housing agency, or a nonprofit entity that owns a major 
housing project that is proposed to be assisted under a 
grant under this Act, either as a sole applicant or as a 
co-applicant with another unit of local government or pub-
lic housing agency or with an entity specified in subsection 
(b). A nonprofit entity may be a sole applicant only if the 
application has the support of a unit of local government. 
(b) CO-APPLICANTS.— 
(1) 
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
CORPORA-
TIONS.—A community development corporation (as 
such term is defined in section 204(b) of the Depart-
ments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropria-
tions Act, 1997 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–11a(b))) may, at 
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the request of an entity specified in subsection (a), 
be a co-applicant for a grant under this Act. 
(2) FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES.—A for-profit entity 
that owns a major housing project that is proposed 
to be assisted under a grant under this Act made in 
fiscal year 2022 or thereafter and that has an estab-
lished presence in the community may be a co-appli-
cant for a grant under this Act. 
(3) REQUIRED CO-APPLICANTS.—A grant under 
this Act may not be made for an application that 
will involve transformation of a major public housing 
project unless the public housing agency having ju-
risdiction with respect to such project is the sole ap-
plicant or a co-applicant for such application. 
(c) PARTNERS.—Nothing in this section may be con-
strued to limit the ability of an applicant to partner with 
any entity in carrying out activities with a grant under 
this Act. 
SEC. 4. ELIGIBLE NEIGHBORHOODS. 
A grant under this Act may be made only for activi-
ties to be conducted in neighborhoods that have— 
(1) a concentration of extreme poverty (as such 
term is defined in section 15); and 
(2) housing that is severely distressed housing 
(as such term is defined in section 15). 
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SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts from a grant under this 
Act may be used only for transformational programs and 
activities in accordance with a transformation plan ap-
proved under section 6 that will further the purposes of 
this Act. 
(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each transformation 
plan submitted pursuant to section 6 and implemented by 
a grantee under this Act shall include the following activi-
ties: 
(1) The transformation of housing through re-
habilitation, preservation, or demolition and replace-
ment of severely distressed housing projects, expan-
sion of affordable housing opportunities, or any com-
bination thereof, which may incorporate energy-effi-
cient design principles. 
(2) The one-for-one replacement of any public 
and assisted housing units demolished or disposed of 
in accordance with the requirements under section 8. 
(3) Activities that promote economic self-suffi-
ciency of residents of the revitalized housing and of 
the surrounding neighborhood. 
(4) Activities that preserve affordable housing 
in the neighborhood and other activities necessary to 
ensure that existing public and assisted housing resi-
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dents have access to the benefits of the neighbor-
hood transformation. 
(5) Activities that demonstrate that each resi-
dent of housing assisted by the grant who is dis-
placed by the transformation plan and who wishes to 
return to the revitalized on-site housing in the neigh-
borhood or to replacement housing outside of the 
neighborhood, can return, and shall be provided a 
preference in accordance with the program require-
ments under section 7. 
(6) Activities that meet the program require-
ments for replacement of housing units under sec-
tion 8. 
(7) Activities that meet the fair housing pro-
gram requirements under section 9(a) and the acces-
sibility requirements under section 9(b). 
(8) Appropriate service coordination and sup-
portive services. 
(9) Resident involvement, as described in sec-
tion 7, in planning and implementation of the trans-
formation plan, including reasonable steps to help 
ensure meaningful participation for residents who, 
as a result of their national origin, are limited in 
their English language proficiency. 
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(10) Monitoring, under section 7(g), of resi-
dents relocated during redevelopment throughout the 
term of the grant or until full occupancy of replace-
ment housing, whichever is completed later. 
(11) Relocation assistance, including tenant- 
based rental assistance renewable under section 8 of 
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f), mobility or relocation counseling over mul-
tiple years, reasonable moving costs, and security de-
posits. 
(12) Establishment of links to local education 
efforts, as described in subsection (c)(3) of this sec-
tion. 
(13) Activities to comply with section 3 of the 
Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 
U.S.C. 1701u). 
(c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts from a grant 
under this Act may be used for the following activities: 
(1) Construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation 
of affordable housing (as such term is defined in 
section 15), which may include energy efficiency im-
provements and sustainable design features for such 
housing. 
(2) Acquisition or disposition of residential 
properties, including properties subject to a mort-
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gage previously insured, and foreclosed upon, by the 
Federal Housing Administration, and demolition. 
(3) Outreach to local educators, and engaging 
in local community planning, to help increase access 
to educational opportunities, a continuum of effec-
tive community services, and strong family supports, 
and to improve the educational and life outcomes 
which have a significant benefit to residents of hous-
ing assisted under this Act, including children and 
youth and, as appropriate, for adult residents, in-
cluding the elderly or persons with disabilities. 
(4) Providing supportive services (as such term 
is defined in section 15) which have a significant 
benefit to residents of housing assisted under this 
Act, primarily focused on services described in sub-
paragraphs (B) and (C) of section 15(14). 
(5) Rehabilitation and physical improvement of 
community facilities that are primarily intended to 
facilitate the delivery of community and supportive 
services which have a significant benefit to residents 
of housing assisted by the grant and residents of off- 
site replacement housing. 
(6) Work incentives designed to help low-income 
residents assisted by the housing under this Act ac-
cess jobs and move toward self-sufficiency. 
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(7) Partnering with employers and for-profit 
and nonprofit organizations to create jobs and job 
training opportunities which have a significant ben-
efit to residents of housing assisted under this Act. 
(8) Activities that promote sustainable housing 
by incorporating principles of sustainable design and 
development, including energy efficiency. 
(9) Critical community improvements (as such 
term is defined in section 15 of this Act) undertaken 
at sites that are adjacent to, or in the immediate vi-
cinity of, housing assisted under this Act. 
(10) Loss reserves to protect residents of hous-
ing assisted by the grant and continue the project in 
the case of default, foreclosure, or any other adverse 
financial event. 
The Secretary shall require any grantee under this Act 
that will provide benefits under paragraph (3), (4), (5), 
or (7) to any residents who are not living in housing as-
sisted with a grant under this Act, to submit to the Sec-
retary a plan identifying how such services will be pro-
vided. 
(d) ELIGIBLE METHODS
OF SUPPORT.—Activities 
carried out with amounts from a grant under this Act may 
be carried out through— 
(1) endowments or revolving loan funds; or 
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(2) land assembly, land banking, and other ac-
tivities, except that no amounts made available for 
use under this Act may be used to acquire any prop-
erty by means of the exercise of the power of emi-
nent domain. 
(e) FUNDING LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) SCHOOL BUILDINGS.—No amounts from a 
grant under this Act may be used for construction 
or rehabilitation of an elementary school or sec-
ondary school (as such terms are defined in section 
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) or an institution of 
higher education (as such term is defined in section 
102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1002)), except that such amounts may be 
used to construct common infrastructure that is 
shared by such a school or institution and by hous-
ing assisted under this Act, or community facilities 
authorized under subsection (c)(5), but only if costs 
are shared on a pro rata basis and the grantee cer-
tifies, and the Secretary determines, that such use 
of funds will not promote or further segregation. 
(2) NON-HOUSING ACTIVITIES AND SUPPORTIVE 
SERVICES.—For each grant under this Act, the 
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grantee shall comply with each of the following re-
quirements: 
(A) Of the amount of the grant, not more 
than 25 percent may be used for eligible activi-
ties under paragraphs (3) through (9) of sub-
section (c). 
(B) Of the amount of the grant, not more 
than 5 percent may be used for eligible activi-
ties under paragraphs (8) and (9) of subsection 
(c). 
(3) CONSULTATION.—With respect to activities 
assisted pursuant to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
shall consult with the Secretary of Labor, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary 
of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, the Sec-
retary of Education, and the Attorney General in 
identifying funding resources that may be provided 
to supplement amounts from grants under this Act. 
SEC. 
6. 
SUBMISSION 
AND 
SELECTION 
OF 
TRANS-
FORMATION PLANS. 
(a) TRANSFORMATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—To 
be eligible for a grant under this Act, an eligible entity 
shall submit to the Secretary, at such time in accordance 
with procedures as the Secretary shall prescribe, an appli-
cation in the form of a transformation plan that— 
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(1) demonstrates how the transformation plan 
will achieve the desired priority outcomes of trans-
forming a distressed neighborhood of extreme pov-
erty into a mixed-income neighborhood with high- 
quality, safe, and affordable housing (including the 
one-for-one replacement of any public or assisted 
housing units demolished or disposed of under the 
transformation plan), economic opportunities, well- 
functioning services, public assets, access to jobs, 
public transportation, and effective education pro-
grams and public schools, including charter schools 
and other autonomous public schools; 
(2) demonstrates how the required activities 
under section 5(b) will be carried out, including a 
detailed description of the housing transformation 
activities under paragraphs (1) and (2) of such sec-
tion; 
(3) describes the other eligible activities under 
section 5(c) that will be carried out in support of the 
housing transformation; 
(4) defines desired outcomes of the strategy, 
how residents of housing assisted under this Act will 
benefit, describes the challenges they face, and the 
evidence base that informs the proposed strategies 
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tunity for comment on specific proposals for redevel-
opment, any demolition and disposition involved, and 
any proposed significant amendments or changes to 
the transformation plan. 
(2) PUBLIC MEETING.—The Secretary may not 
make a grant under this Act to an applicant unless 
the applicant has convened and conducted a public 
meeting regarding the transformation plan, includ-
ing the one-for-one replacement to occur under the 
plan, not later than 30 days before submission of the 
application for the grant under this section for such 
plan, at a time and location that is convenient for 
residents of the public and assisted housing subject 
to the plan. 
(3) SIGNIFICANT
AMENDMENTS
OR
CHANGES 
TO PLAN.—An applicant may not carry out any sig-
nificant amendment or change to a transformation 
plan unless— 
(A) the applicant has convened and con-
ducted a public meeting regarding the signifi-
cant amendment or change at a time and loca-
tion that is convenient for residents of the pub-
lic and assisted housing subject to the plan and 
has provided each household occupying a dwell-
ing unit in such public and assisted housing 
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