I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5041 
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize 
grants to assist in redeveloping abandoned shopping centers, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 17, 2021 
Ms. BOURDEAUX (for herself and Mr. CLEAVER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act 
of 1974 to authorize grants to assist in redeveloping 
abandoned shopping centers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Grayfield Redevelop-
ment and Economic Advancement Through Effective 
Repurposing and Revitalization of Shopping Centers Act 
of 2021’’ or the ‘‘GREATER Revitalization of Shopping 
Centers Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. GRAYFIELDS SHOPPING CENTERS REDEVELOP-
MENT GRANTS. 
(a) GRANTS.—Section 108 of the Housing and Com-
munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(s) 
SHOPPING
CENTER
REDEVELOPMENT 
GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In conjunction with notes or 
other obligations issued by eligible public entities or 
designated public agencies for the purpose of financ-
ing projects that meet the criteria under paragraph 
(2) and that are guaranteed under this section, the 
Secretary may make grants to such eligible public 
entities or designated public agencies in connection 
with such guarantees for the purpose of enhancing 
the security of the notes or obligations or improving 
the viability of projects financed with such notes or 
obligations. 
‘‘(2) 
PROJECT
REQUIREMENTS.—A 
project 
meets the criteria under this paragraph only if the 
project— 
‘‘(A) is designed to eliminate blight, includ-
ing on a spot basis, through redevelopment and 
revitalization of facilities that— 
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‘‘(ii) 
reclaiming 
and 
re-use 
of 
grayfields; 
‘‘(iii) development of affordable hous-
ing; 
‘‘(iv) removal of existing grayfield in-
frastructure; 
‘‘(v) such other priorities as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate, including 
with respect to smaller jurisdictions and 
non-metropolitan areas; or 
‘‘(vi) any two or more of the priorities 
specified in or pursuant to this subpara-
graph. 
‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant pursu-
ant to this section may not exceed $5,000,000. 
‘‘(4) MATCHING
REQUIREMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall require each eligible public entity or des-
ignated public agency to which a grant is made pur-
suant to this subsection to contribute to the project 
for which the grant is made an amount from sources 
other than such grant, including local and State tax 
abatements, in-kind contributions, and Federal tax 
incentives, that exceeds 50 percent of the amount of 
such grant. 
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‘‘(5) PREFERENCE.—In making grants pursu-
ant to this section, the Secretary shall give pref-
erence to eligible public entities and designated pub-
lic agencies based on the extent to which— 
‘‘(A) the amount proposed to be contrib-
uted pursuant to paragraph (4) exceeds the 
minimum amount required by such paragraph 
to be contributed; 
‘‘(B) the project reflects the results of ex-
tensive community engagement; and 
‘‘(C) the project would benefit lower-in-
come, underserved communities. 
‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(A) HUD.—The Secretary shall, in ac-
cordance with section 102 of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development Reform Act 
of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545), provide technical 
guidance and assistance to applicants for grants 
under this subsection regarding— 
‘‘(i) how to apply for grants under 
this subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) how to avoid conflicts relating to 
using funding pursuant to this section in 
conjunction with Federal tax-exempt fi-
nancing. 
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‘‘(B) LOCAL.—An eligible public entity or 
designated public agency receiving a grant 
under this subsection may use not more than 
25 percent of such grant amounts to obtain 
technical assistance from local qualified service 
providers regarding combining such assistance 
with other financing with— 
‘‘(i) other Federal assistance, includ-
ing the New Markets Tax Credits program 
and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit pro-
gram; and 
‘‘(ii) other State assistance, tax cred-
its, and incentives, including tax-increment 
financing and other bonding instruments. 
‘‘(7) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) HUD.—For each fiscal year for 
which grants are made under this subsection, 
the Secretary shall submit a report to the Con-
gress, not later than 90 days after the end of 
such fiscal year, that identifies— 
‘‘(i) each project assisted with such 
grant amounts; 
‘‘(ii) the amount of non-Federal funds 
contributed to the project; and 
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‘‘(iii) how the grant amounts were 
used. 
‘‘(B) GAO.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
the Comptroller General shall submit a report 
to the Congress analyzing the effectiveness of 
the program for grants under this section and 
making recommendations to improve future 
outcomes among shopping mall redevelopment 
and revitalization projects and similar subsidy 
programs administered in conjunction with 
Federal loan guarantees. 
‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the following definitions shall apply: 
‘‘(A) 
TRANSIT-ORIENTED
DEVELOP-
MENT.—The term ‘transit-oriented develop-
ment’ means a project that— 
‘‘(i) enhances economic development 
and achieve other goals established during 
the project development and engineering 
processes; 
‘‘(ii) facilitates multimodal transpor-
tation connectivity and accessibility; 
‘‘(iii) increases access to transit hubs 
for pedestrian and bicycle traffic; 
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‘‘(iv) enables mixed-use development; 
‘‘(v) identifies infrastructure needs as-
sociated with the project; and 
‘‘(vi) includes private sector participa-
tion. 
‘‘(B) GRAYFIELD.—The term ‘grayfield’ 
means an economically obsolescent, outdated, 
failing, moribund, or underused real estate 
asset. 
‘‘(9) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap-
propriated 
for 
grants 
under 
this 
subsection 
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023, 
which amounts shall remain available until ex-
pended.’’. 
(b) CDBG LOAN GUARANTEE CAP.—Subject to sec-
tion 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 
U.S.C. 661a), during each of fiscal years 2022 and 2023, 
commitments to guarantee loans under section 108 of the 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 
U.S.C. 5308), any part of which is guaranteed, shall not 
exceed a total principal amount of $500,000,000, notwith-
standing any aggregate limitation on outstanding obliga-
tions guaranteed in subsection (k) of such section 108. 
Æ 
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