FEMA Awards $441,750 Grant to City of Chicago: Hazard Mitigation funds will be used to make flood retrofits to River City Condominium

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $441,750 in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds to the City of Chicago, Ill., for the proposed structural retrofits to the River City Condominium building. The project includes the elevation of an existing marina wall and the installation of a sewer backflow preventer.

“The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program enables communities to implement critical mitigation measures to reduce the risk of loss of life and property,” said Andrew Velasquez III, regional administrator, FEMA Region V. “The implementation of this retrofit project will greatly reduce the financial impact on individuals and the community when future flooding occurs in this area.”

“The last flood in this area forced the evacuation of hundreds of people and the loss of considerable personal property,” said Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Jonathon Monken. “This grant is a good investment in a project that will prevent this type of devastation from happening in the future.”

HMGP provides grants to state and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures. Through HMGP, FEMA will pay 75 percent of the $589,000 eligible project cost. The remaining 25 percent of the funds, $147,250 will be provided by the River City Facilities Management.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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 Media Contact: Cassie Ringsdorf, (312) 408-4455 

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