The City of Bethlehem and the Bethlehem Housing Authority are among 14 nationwide applicants awarded a $500,000 Choice Neighborhood planning grant.

This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development award offers the Bethlehem community a transformational opportunity to re-imagine an aging 196-unit public housing development and its surrounding neighborhood into a vibrant mixed-income community.

The award comes as Bethlehem wraps up a yearlong affordable housing strategy planning process and moves into the implementation phase. The Opening Doors housing strategy plan centers heavily upon the new opportunities available if the city and Bethlehem Housing Authority partner to create more affordable housing in the city.

“We view housing as a basic human right in Bethlehem City Hall,” Mayor J. William Reynolds said. “This Choice Neighborhood grant award offers our community an unparalleled opportunity to bring more housing to Bethlehem. It also ushers in a new era of collaboration between the city and housing authority to benefit our citizens.”

This two-year planning grant will allow Bethlehem to develop a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plan to update the Pembroke Village public housing development. Choice Neighborhood projects replace public and HUD-assisted housing with high-quality, mixed-income housing.

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