The funding is coming from the $5.4-billion CommunityDevelopment Block Grant assistance that HUD allocated toMississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The money isgeared toward building affordable housing to replace what wasdamaged or destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Because the majorityof destroyed homes belonged to residents earning less than 120% ofthe area media income, the grant is dedicated to rebuilding andrepairing units in mixed-income neighborhoods.

The state intends to create mixed-income communities throughmarket-rate rental units and affordable rates, aimed at a range ofincome levels for multifamily and single-family dwellings.

A HUD spokesman tells GlobeSt.com that Mississippi's overallplan is to get people moving back, which means development and/orrenovation of owned and rental units. "They're going to get to worksoliciting bids from non-profits, private developers and others togo out and build housing from scratch, renovate housing that needsit, or provide closing costs to struggling families," he adds.