Representatives from the Tuscaloosa Office of Community and Neighborhood Services received the 2025 Audrey Nelson Award from the National Community Development Association at the 2025 NCDA Winter/Legislative Conference last Tuesday. The city earned the award for its role in developing affordable housing at Springer Estates in West Tuscaloosa.
NCDA established the Audrey Nelson Awards in 1987 to recognize exemplary uses of Community Development Block Grant funds and then expanded to recognize exemplary uses of HOME funds. The award was named in honour of Audrey Nelson, the first deputy executive secretary of NCDA.
“The city has worked really hard over the past few years to partner with the housing authority to create more affordable housing opportunities,” said Walt Maddox, mayor of Tuscaloosa. “We know that it is something we have to do for the workforce, and it is one of the drivers of people who want to come into our community.”
The project was a collaboration between the City of Tuscaloosa and the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority. The goal of the project was to increase the number of single-family homes within the city, focusing on low- to moderate-income residents as its target audience.
The project produced 25 family homes. The construction totaled $7,377,072, with $4,737,631 from the City of Tuscaloosa. The rest was funded through CDBG funds, HOME funds and $2,639,441 from the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority.
