WASHINGTON-- The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today notified U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking member of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, that the Coastal Housing Corporation in Portsmouth has been awarded $700,600 in federal funding to provide affordable housing for seniors. Funding will be used for permitting and planning for the construction of elderly-only housing units. In 2003, Reed secured $568,800 for the project. Residents will have easy access to town offices, shopping and other services and amenities. In July of 2004, Reed wrote a letter to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson in support of Coastal Housings grant request. In the letter, Reed noted that Rhode Island has one of the highest percentages of elderly in the country. He wrote, Given that the current housing market provides few affordable housing options for seniors and coupled with the added burden of reduced financial flexibility, the need for safe, affordable, elderly housing only increases with each year, I wholeheartedly applaud the Coastal Housing Corporations continuing efforts to provide quality housing.The funding comes from HUDs Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program that provides capital advance financing and rental assistance to private nonprofit sponsors for the development and operation of supportive housing for seniors.