TxCDBG Colonia funds are available to eligible county applicants for projects in severely distressed unincorporated areas which meet the definition as a colonia:

• any identifiable unincorporated community within 150 miles of the United States-Mexico border, not including any standard metropolitan statistical area with a population exceeding 1,000,000;
• the community is determined to be a colonia on the basis of criteria including lack of potable water supply, lack of adequate sewage systems, and lack of decent, safe, and sanitary housing;
• the community was in existence as a colonia before the enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (November 28, 1990).

Colonia Fund Categories with Cycles

Colonia Construction Fund
Grants for eligible counties within 150 miles of the Texas-Mexico border for community development projects.  Includes a construction component and a planning component, which funds an inventory of colonias.

Colonia Economically Distressed Areas Program
Grants to counties for colonias in the Texas Water Development Board’s Economically Distressed Areas Program (TWDB EDAP) and similar state and federal programs.

Colonia Planning and Needs Assessment
Colonia planning activities are currently obligated through a series of multi-county grants to conduct needs assessment for all known Texas colonias.

Colonia Self-Help Centers Fund
Grants for counties to assist colonias. Colonia Self-Help Centers are located in counties of Cameron/Willacy, El Paso, Hidalgo, Starr, Webb, Maverick and Val Verde. Administered by the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs through an interagency agreement.

For more information about Colonia Programs, email Crystal Vasquez at Crystal.Vasquez@TexasAgriculture.gov.

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