By TRACEY DRURY
tdrury@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1609

A total of $233,000 in community planning grants from the state were awarded to municipalities in Western New York to help boost housing projects.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal approved $342 million in financing and grants to build and preserve 541 affordable-housing units, create jobs and stimulate local economies around the state. HCR includes the state's major housing and community renewal agencies, which recently merged and integrated under a single management structure.

The awards statewide included nearly $339 in financing from the state Housing Finance Agency and the state Affordable Housing Corp. Additionally, the Housing Trust Fund Corp. approved $2.75 million in grants through the Community Development Block Grant Program, as well as community planning awards totaling $678,360 for 24 municipalities statewide.