Arecibo Mayor Carlos R. Ramírez Irizarry announced Wednesday that for the first time in 10 years the northern coastal municipality has acquired two properties using federal funds from the HOME Program, aimed at developing affordable housing for low- and very-low-income individuals and families. One property is a plot of land on PR-129, where the construction of six apartments is planned for people who meet the federal program’s eligibility requirements.
The second is a building on De Diego Avenue in Arecibo’s urban center, which will be repurposed for affordable housing units; the mayor framed it as part of efforts to reclaim spaces and strengthen residential activity in the city center. The HOME Program (HOME Investment Partnerships Program) is administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and provides resources to state and municipal governments to fund the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of housing for people with limited income.
The acquisitions were led by municipal development director Juan Carlos Colón González and HOME Program coordinator Edgardo Pérez Pérez, with municipal finance director Lourdes Acevedo Concepción and attorney Ángela Oquendo Negrón participating in the formalization process.