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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday awarded $3.16 billion in funding to nearly 2,770 public housing authorities in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to make capital investments to their public housing stock.

Funding includes $475,769 for the Albert Lea Housing and Redevelopment Authority, according to a press release.

“As I have traveled the country, I’ve heard time and again from families and seniors in public housing that a decent home in a safe community shouldn’t be too much to ask for,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “With this investment today, we are committing to work with our public housing authority partners to guarantee homes in public housing are worthy of the families and individuals who live there.”

The grants announced are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to all public housing authorities to build, renovate and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. Housing authorities can use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating systems and installing water conservation measures.

For more than 80 years, the federal government has been investing billions of dollars in developing and maintaining public housing, including providing critical support through the capital fund grants announced.