About Community Development
The Community Development Office improves the quality of life in existing Round Rock neighborhoods by providing services to individuals and families, and reinvesting in neighborhood improvements. Round Rock furthers community development through participation in the Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The CDBG program emphasizes participation and representation of the target population(s). Round Rock has used its annual CDBG grant funds to provide housing programs, infrastructure, parks, entrepreneurial opportunities and public services to assist low and moderate income residents.
The primary functions of the Community Development Office are to:
- Research the nature and extend of local social and reinvestment needs through public hearings and surveys, as well as more objective measures;
- Develop priorities and strategies to address these needs in consultation with City departments and local public and private service organizations;
- Apply for CDBG program funds and distribute them to the public and private organizations that can best meet the identified needs;
- Provide technical assistance, financial and program analysis to these organizations and other project sponsors; the office is also responsible for monitoring all project activities to ensure compliance with HUD regulatory and policy requirements.
In accordance with HUD regulations, all activities supported with CDBG resources must directly benefit low and moderate income persons or eliminate slum and blight. Although these programs directly benefit individuals and families, the entire community benefits through the CDBG program’s investment in the health, safety and stability of its neighborhoods.
Recent Projects
The following are some of the recent projects that were made possible through the CDBG program in the City of Round Rock:
- Construction of new sidewalks in the Chisholm Valley Neighborhood (completed February 2025)
- Purchase and installation of an ADA playground at Settlement Park and Bowman Park
- Rehabilitation of homes for low to moderate income residents
- Funding for the CASA, Round Rock Area Serving Center and Meals on Wheels, so they may provide much needed public services to the community
- Purchase and installation of 7 bus shelters in low to moderate income areas (completed in 2024)
Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluaton Report (CAPER) 2023
FY 2024-2028 Consolidated Plan
The City of Round Rock is in the process of developing the FY 2024-2028 Consolidated Plan. The Consolidated Plan guides the City in its use of funding received annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) Program for the next five years.
In-person stakeholder meetings for non-profit and housing organizations, as well as community meetings for Round Rock residents, were held in March. These meetings helped gather information to assess the community’s current needs, identify resources and develop goals and strategies to address the priority of unmet needs.
Round Rock residents are invited to provide input by completing the Community Needs Survey. If you have any questions, please contact Patricia Santa Cruz at psantacruz@growamerica.org. For more information, please review the Community Input Presentation.
CDBG 2024-2028 Consolidated Plan Executive Summary
Draft CDBG 2024-2028 Consolidated Plan and FY 2024 Action Plan Summary
Funding
For the 2024-2025 Program Year (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025) the Community Development Office received $642,233 of CDBG funds. The projects, programs and activities that were funded with CDBG funds this program year:
- Home Repair Programs for eight (8) low to moderate income homes
- Purchase and installation of a new more inclusive playground at Greenhill Park
- Food Pantry Program
- Housing Assistance Program
- CASA Child Advocacy Program
- Meals on Wheels Program
CITY OF ROUND ROCK PUBLIC SERVICES APPLICATION 2025-2026
The City of Round Rock accepted applications for public services activities. Applications are currently being reviewed and funding recommendations will be announced in June 2025.
Community Development Programs
A large portion of CDBG funds are distributed to other nonprofit social service organizations in order to further the program’s goals. Allocations to recipients must be consistent with the community priorities outlined in the Five-Year Consolidated Plan. Applications are made available on this site each year before they are due in the spring, and proposed allocations are subject to a 30-day comment period in early summer.
The City of Round Rock’s Minor Home Repairs program aims to make health and safety related repairs to owner-occupied homes. Priority will be given to very-low income applicant and income eligible elderly or disabled occupants.
Each year (usually in February and March) the Community Development Office conducts public hearings to find out what Round Rock residents perceive as the most pressing human service needs in their community. If funding permits, a Community Needs Assessment Survey is administered at the same time through the City website. This assessment is considered and applied to the decision-making process to develop programs and activities for the annual Action Plans (see below) and create funding strategies in the 5-year Consolidated Plan.
The Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, or AI, is a planning process for local governments and public housing agencies (PHAs) to take meaningful actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.
• Executive Summary
The Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) is a document that prescribes the public input process related to required federal reports for the City of Round Rock’s Office of Community Development CDBG program, such as the Annual Action Plan and the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding. Â
Helpful Links
- To determine if a project or an activity is eligible to be assisted with CDBG funds the interested parties should visit here.
- To learn about CDBG laws and regulations, visit here.
- For information about Community Planning and Development (CPD) Notices, visit here.
- To learn more about your Fair Housing Rights or if you have questions on Tenant Rights, visit here.
- For information on affordable housing or see the Guide to Affordable Housing in the Greater Austin Area, visit here.
- For information on affordable housing resources for renters, visit here.
Mortgage Assistance
HUD provides support to a nationwide network of Housing Counseling Agencies (HCA) and counselors. HCAs are trained and approved by HUD to provide tools to current and prospective homeowners, renters so that they can make responsible choices to address their housing needs in light of their financial situations. Learn more
Contact Us
Office of Community Development
221 E. Main Street, Round Rock TX 78664
Phone: 512-341-3328
Fax: 512-671-2808
