The COVID-19 pandemic, and more notably, back-to-back natural disasters have caused significant destruction to housing, infrastructure and communities of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is a tremendous need to rebuild, yet many recovery efforts were stalled.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Puerto Rico’s housing department announced Feb. 1, 2021, plans approving the use of $6.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have also been awarded $1.8 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, where housing, infrastructure and economic revitalization programs are prioritized through the U.S. Virgin Islands Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Action Plan.
How to use the CDBG-MIT and CDBG-DR funds and various other community development tax incentives to encourage economic development and recovery will be the focus of our second Investing in Puerto Rico and USVI Virtual Conference.