Nearly $85 million in grant funding has been awarded to clear the way for more affordable housing to be built across the nation.

The first 21 awards under the federal Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program will support communities “actively taking steps and demonstrating progress in addressing needless local housing barriers to housing production,” according to officials.

The grants will be used to update state and local housing plans, revise land-use policies, streamline permitting for construction, and initiate other steps to make it easier to build affordable housing. They’ll will also go toward preserving existing affordable housing units, providing gap funding to developments, and increasing access to homeownership.

Another $100 million is scheduled to be awarded this summer.

“Every American deserves affordable housing,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in a press call announcing the PRO Housing awards. “Yet, in communities across our nation, the cost of housing is just too high. Part of the reason for the high cost of housing is a lack of supply. In many communities, there’s simply not enough affordable housing available, and significant barriers prevent more from being built.”

For affordable housing developers, one barrier is the cost to buy and develop land. In Milwaukee, the $2.1 million award will help the city provide subsidies to builders to help them develop vacant lots and abandoned buildings into affordable housing, Harris said.

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