119-s2915

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2915 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2915

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
 an emerging developer fund program to provide competitive grants to 
 nonprofit housing organizations and community development financial 
 institutions, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 September 19 (legislative day, September 16), 2025

 Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
 an emerging developer fund program to provide competitive grants to 
 nonprofit housing organizations and community development financial 
 institutions, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Sparking Production of Urban and 
Rural Housing Act'' or the ``SPUR Housing Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Community development financial institution.--The term 
 ``community development financial institution'' means an 
 institution that has been certified as a community development 
 financial institution (as defined in 

section 103 of the 
 Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 
 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702)) by the Secretary of the Treasury.

    (2) Distressed community.--The term ``distressed 
 community'' has the meaning given the term ``qualified census 
 tract'' in 

section 42
            (d) (5)
        (B)
            (ii) of the Internal Revenue Code 
 of 1986.

    (3) High opportunity area.--The term ``high opportunity 
 area'' has the meaning given the term in 

section 1282.1 of 
 title 12, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
 regulation.

    (4) Emerging developer.--The term ``emerging developer'' 
 means a developer that has--
        (A) limited real estate development experience and 
 limited liquidity or net worth;
        (B) any other qualifications as determined 
 appropriate by the Secretary.

    (5) Institution of higher education; part b institution.--
 The terms ``institution of higher education'' and ``part B 
 institution'' have the meanings given those terms in 

section 101 and 322, respectively, of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 1061).

    (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Housing and Urban Development.

SEC. 3. EMERGING DEVELOPER FUND PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an emerging developer fund 
program to provide competitive grants to nonprofit housing 
organizations and community development financial institutions.

    (b) Use of Amounts.--Nonprofit housing organizations and community 
development financial institutions that receive amounts under this 
section shall use such amounts--

    (1) to offer financing to emerging developers undertaking 
 affordable housing and community development projects, 
 including--
        (A) predevelopment loans;
        (B) loan loss reserves;
            (C) grants;
            (D) risk sharing; and
        (E) credit enhancements, including interest rate 
 buy downs;

    (2) to capitalize a fund to support affordable housing and 
 community development projects of emerging developers;

    (3) to offer capacity-building training, and technical 
 assistance programs to emerging developers; and

    (4) for other uses approved by the Secretary.
            (c) Application.--Each nonprofit housing organization and community 
development financial institution that applies for a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and 
in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably require and shall--

    (1) demonstrate plans for providing comprehensive training, 
 technical assistance, and financing to emerging developers; and

    (2) include information about past work completed by the 
 organization or institution.
            (d) Awarding of Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants under 
this section based on the ability of an applicant to--

    (1) identify and quantify the need for development capacity 
 building in the community of focus, including emerging 
 developers with an intent to pursue affordable housing and 
 community development projects, including in distressed 
 communities;

    (2) provide comprehensive real estate development capacity 
 building and ongoing technical assistance, including by helping 
 emerging developers to--
        (A) develop and manage a construction budget;
        (B) determine financing needs;
            (C) identify and secure sources of private and 
 public capital, including preparing applications for 
 tax credits under 

section 42 of the Internal Revenue 
 Code of 1986;
            (D) structure capital stacks;
        (E) understand loan terms;
        (F) conduct business planning;
        (G) conduct strategic planning;
        (H) prepare bids;
            (I) structure financial statements; and
        (J) implement bonding strategies;

    (3) provide affordable lending products for affordable 
 housing and community development projects, such as 
 predevelopment loans and other relevant products;

    (4) offer mentoring and networking opportunities for 
 emerging developers;

    (5) build partnerships with institutions of higher 
 education, including community colleges and part B 
 institutions, to provide real estate development course work 
 and other resources to current and aspiring real estate 
 developers;

    (6) provide ongoing technical assistance after completion 
 of any curriculum offered at the institutions described in 
 paragraph

    (5) ; and

    (7) track program outcomes, including the total number and 
 volume of loans originated, total development costs, geographic 
 areas served, and income streams created for the borrower.

    (e) Priority.--When awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall prioritize organizations that--

    (1) are providing lending or technical assistance to 
 emerging developers--
        (A) with limited experience;
        (B) who are undercapitalized; or
            (C) who intend to focus on the development of 
 affordable housing and community development projects 
 in distressed communities and high opportunity areas; 
 and

    (2) have a history of providing support to emerging 
 developers.

    (f) Limitation.--No organization or institution may receive an 
award amount under this section that is greater than 15 percent of the 
amount appropriated pursuant to subsection

    (h) .

    (g) Coordination With Other Federal Agencies.--The Secretary shall 
coordinate with the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the 
alignment of program under this section and reporting requirements 
under this section with similar requirements of the Community 
Development Financial Institutions Fund under the Community Development 
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701 et 
seq.).

    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.
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