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The City of Selma recently acquired a Choice Neighborhoods and HUD Lead Grant to improve housing in the area.

At a Tuesday press conference, Selma Mayor James Perkins, Jr. and Selma Housing Authority Executive Director Kennard Randolph announced that the city landed a $500,000 grant, which came U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“We have been working diligently to find ways to improve affordable housing in Selma,” Randolph said.

Randolph said that the SHA will use the money to improve the George Washington Carver  (GWC) Homes. Randolph also said the community will have input in the process.

“We want to make sure that that residents know the community stakeholders will have an input in this process,” Randolph said.

Perkins said that the city and SHA work well together.

“The Selma Housing Authority and the City of Selma have an excellent relationship,” Perkins said. “We have worked together closely on this.”

Randolph and Perkins both said it’s only the beginning.

“Not only are we focusing on public housing developments, we’re focusing on neighborhoods, we’re coming into neighborhoods, we are stepping outside of the box, doing things that the Housing Authority has never done before,” Randolph said. “We’re buying homes, we’re gonna build new homes.”