Federal programs & compliance
CDBG
Community Development Block Grants — HUD formula funds to local governments; housing uses trigger Part 58 review, URA, Davis-Bacon and cross-cutting rules.
Definition
The Community Development Block Grant program sends formula funds to entitlement cities, urban counties and states for activities benefiting low- and moderate-income persons, under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and 24 C.F.R. Part 570. Housing-side uses — acquisition, rehabilitation, infrastructure serving housing, homebuyer assistance — are common; direct new construction is largely reserved to community-based development organizations.
What matters to a developer is the cross-cutting package a CDBG dollar carries: responsible-entity environmental review under 24 C.F.R. Part 58, acquisition and relocation duties under the URA regulations, Section 104(d) one-for-one replacement when low/mod housing is demolished or converted, Davis-Bacon wages on residential projects of eight or more units, and fair-housing and Section 3 obligations.
Why it matters in an underwrite
CDBG is often the small public loan that federalizes the whole project. A modest gap loan means no choice-limiting action — no acquisition, demolition or construction start — until the Part 58 review clears, URA notices to every occupant of an assisted acquisition, and possible prevailing wages at eight-plus units. Sequencing is the whole game: sign a purchase contract or start demo early and the federal money can be lost, not merely delayed.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.