2000 Best Practice Awards

67 City of Fayetteville Downtown Business Loan Program

This best practice nomination reveals the snowball effect which occurs when a community supports small businesses within areas which many would deem unacceptable; the poorest parts of a city. The City of Fayetteville, NC has a million dollar loan pool (Downtown Loan Program), which is funded by the City (CDBG) in partnership with the local lending institutions. The purpose of the loan program is the revitalization of Fayetteville's downtown area- which used to be a notorious red light district. The loan is a combination of $400,000 CDBG funds and $600,000 from local banks. The loan program focuses on providing funding to small businesses that want to locate in one of the 6 poorest census tracts in the city, or to who want to expand or renovate businesses within those areas. The loans are tied to job creation and are offered for less than the prime lending rate. The program has approved 21 small businesses since the program began 3 1/2 years ago and a total of approximately $1.8 million have been loaned to date, creating 26 jobs for low and moderate income persons.

The city loaned $43,455 to a small start-up business (AIT) located downtown to purchase their first building and relocate the business out of the founders home. The business has since grown to employ a staff of 75, and has annualized earnings between $12 and $15 million. The company has in turn agreed to spend $2.5 million to create at least 250 new jobs, as well as, become an incubator for local entrepreneurs. AIT will rent office space to provide a computer network, a marketing strategy, employment help and business advice. The whole idea behind this program is to train and retain technology talent in Fayetteville. The program will offer certification training in Microsoft, Linux and Cisco Systems, among others.

193 West End Plaza Apartments

This success story was the feature article in the February 22, 2000 edition of Housing on the Move. The project is an 82 unit multifamily project insured under Section 236. Most of the units are subsidized with a Section 8 contract. Conditions at the property had become deplorable. In 1998, after considerable effort by HUD to bring the former owner into compliance, HUD abated the payments on the Section 8 contract. In May, 1998, the former project owner defaulted on the mortgage payments, and the mortgage was assigned to HUD. After the project was assigned to HUD, conditions continued to decline, such that the City of Reidsville began proceedings to condemn and demolish several of the apartment buildings. In January, 1999, the owner voluntarily granted HUD Mortgagee in Possession (MIP). The property had been placed in HUD's foreclosure pipeline. However, local HUD staff were keenly aware of the great need for this affordable housing resource in the rural community of Reidsville. If this property were foreclosed, the project based Section 8 contract would be lost and a greatly needed affordable housing resource would vanish for the low income residents of Reidsville. Because the mortgage on the property is HUD-Held, the Department was flexible, and the Greensboro Multifamily Hub negotiated a creative financing arrangement with a local non-profit affordable housing group (Project Homestead), which avoided foreclosure and allowed for the complete rehabilitation of the property. A Transfer of Physical Assets (TPA) was completed which allowed the property to be transferred to the non-profit, Project Homestead, who, in turn, created a for-profit entity to obtain tax credits. The arrangement allows for the deferral of payment on HUD's first mortgage until the project is stabilized and for the creation of a soft third mortgage to HUD to cover HUD's operating advances, while HUD was Mortgagee in Possession (MIP). Funding sources for this rehabilitation also include tax credits, secondary bank financing, and city grant money. In order to make the deal on West End Plaza work, Project Homestead formed a limited liability corporation (LLC) (Beco Apts. Ltd.) so that tax credits may be obtained (non-profits cannot get tax credits.) The tax credits will be used to fund the rehabilitation of the property. The application for tax credits has been submitted and notifications of tax credits allocations should go out in late summer. Details of the arrangement: The unusual arrangement allows the new owner to defer payments of principal and interest on HUD's first mortgage until the property can afford it. Since there are currently only 20 residents living in the 82 unit property, it is not possible for debt service to be met. HUD believes that debt service can be met after the rehabilitation. The other unusual arrangement involves the treatment of "operating advances" which accumulated during the time HUD held MIP on the property. Since the level of these advances was too high to allow Project Homestead's proposal to work, HUD allowed the operating advances to be rolled into a third mortgage to HUD, which will not begin amortization until after HUD's first (original) mortgage is paid off. HUD required the new owner to sign a Use Agreement which extended the low-income status of the property past the expiration of the third note. Also, the new owner allowed HUD to hold a deed to the property "in escrow" in the event that the secondary financing and tax credit arrangement do not work out. Project Homestead has worked extensively in the Greensboro area to build affordable single family housing. They have also revitalized some troubled multifamily housing (non-HUD) and own one elderly housing project in Greensboro.

200 Neighborhood Telecommunication Network

415 Salem Garden/ Parkview Apartments

Citizen groups partnered with federal and local governments and agencies to weed out violent crime, drug trafficking, and drug-related crime and restore the community to a safe environment for citizens to live and work. These groups banded together to clean up a wooded area known as a breeding ground for crime, to establish neighborhood watches, to revamp and revitalize businesses, to establish neighborhood watches, to create programs for area children and adults, and to improve the living conditions at Salem Gardens. This effort was successful only because of the dedication of the partnerships that formed to combat crime and uplift the community. This project has the personal backing of Attorney General Janet Reno, who visited the property and neighborhood last year.

444 In-Home Aide Training Program

The In-Home Aide Training Program, begun in 1996, assists women and men, who are either on public assistance or are "displaced" by changes in the local economy, in completing the state-mandated Levels I and II competencies for In-Home Aides. After the first two weeks (of a five-week program), the trainees practice their newly-acquired skills in the apartments of low-income elderly and handicapped residents of Aston Park Tower and Garden Apartments (of the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville). At the end of the five-week training, area employers hold a job fair specifically for our "graduates," who can then leave the program assured of employment in health-care. Arrangements are made with employers to assure appropriate candidates for nursing assistant training are afforded that opportunity after a trial period of employment. The program and/or the employer will cover costs of nursing assistant training. Class size is small. Staff consists of a Lead Trainer (an LPN with 15 years’ experience in long-term care), a Health Educator (who also "tracks" the graduates after they leave the program), and a social services worker, a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner and a Gerontologist. Professionals from a variety of community agencies augment the curriculum with their special knowledge of such issues as Alzheimer’s Disease and HIV/AIDS. Personal attention and assistance are available to all program participants.

446 Jazzy's Restaurant

Jazzy’s Restaurant provides on-the-job training for public housing residents and assists them in becoming self-sufficient. It creates opportunities for resident’s self-sufficiency and economic independence and assures fiscal integrity by all program participants.

631 Fair Housing Complaints Log Control System

An easy-to-read detailed table with all relevant material regarding a case including: name of case; FHAP case number; category/basis of complaint; date filed; date closed; finding; status; 100 day notification

703 Low-income Homeownership

The Wadsworth Court Project is an affordable home ownership program which involves the construction of 12 single family homes for sale to low to moderate income families in the High Point, NC area. The Wadsworth Court homes are all three bedroom, brick homes with 2 full baths in 1100 square feet. They were sold to low income residents at the value of the construction cost. High Point Bank provided below market interest rate mortgages with the FHLB of Atlanta providing down payment assistance for principal reduction and an affordable blended rate to the borrowers. The City of High Point contributed a portion of the closing costs and down payments. A local building supplier discounted building supplies which allowed the homes to be sold at cost.

709 Durham Hosiery Mill

Durham Hosiery Mill is insured under 221(d)(4), SubRehab and has 151 units assisted under Section 8 Moderate Rehab. The project was rehabbed in 1987.

1031 W/SHRC "Housing INFO-Fair" (Showing You the Way to Home Ownership)

The INFO-FAIR is a cooperative and comprehensive housing information fair targeted at first time home buyers and potential first time home buyers. The fair offers available and affordable housing, financing options, products available, and information on how to qualify or become qualified for home loans. A plus for the FAIR is having the local credit bureau provide free credit reports to all attendees interested in possibly becoming pre-qualified for a home purchase. Translators are provided to assist Hispanic members of the community to avail themselves of the FAIR. The 2000 FAIR was sponsored by the W/SHRC and co-sponsored by various financial institutions, housing agencies, community organizations, etc.

1831 City of Asheville Consolidated Strategic Housing and Community Development Plan

The City of Asheville engaged over 230 citizens in the preparation of its five-year Consolidated Strategic Plan for 2000-2005, in a way that made it a truly citizen-driven process. The role of staff was largely restricted to researching data, facilitating meetings, and editing drafts produced by citizen committees.

2246 African-American History and Cultural Arts Program

The African-American History/Cultural Arts program, which targets youth 10 to 14 years of age, operates each summer for nine weeks and has two components: a history component and a cultural arts component. The history component of the program allows youth to explore their ethnic heritage and how it affects their future. This component provides a core program of instruction dealing with the social and political history of African Americans, including slavery; the instructors discuss the lives of African Americans who significantly influenced science, politics, government, social programs, and the arts. Reading and writing skills are vital because part of the course’s purpose is to improve the scholastic performance of the participants for the upcoming school year. In addition, youth are able to see the positive impact African-American leaders had on their communities and the nation by visiting local historic sites such as the Woolworth’s Lunch Counter, the site in Greensboro that launched the national sit-in movement. At the end of the program, youth compete in a Quiz Bowl to test the knowledge they accumulated over the summer. The cultural arts component of the program allows youth to be inspired by African-American artists, dancers, and writers. Local instructors in the areas of dance, visual arts, music, and creative communication teach youth with an emphasis on African-American artistic expression. Additionally, youth attend various performances exposing them to dance, music, visual arts, and drama. At the completion of the African-American History/Cultural Arts Program, each of the four clubs sponsors a program to showcase the achievements of their participants.

2466 Resident Safety Program

The Resident Safety Program, (RSP) is the Charlotte Housing Authority's method of addressing the crime issues faced by its residents. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community is growing at an astonishing rate and as the community at large faces growing pains so does the Authority. The program has the flexibility necessary to provide a broad range of crime prevention services to all of the residents of the Authority and take focus on problem areas.

2640 Tucker Street Apartments

Tucker Street Apartments became a Safe Neighborhood Grant recipient in May, 1998. Part of these funds were used to build and equip a police substation to provide a workstation for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in a central location on the property and in the surrounding community. The community includes Tucker Street Apartments, apartments owned and operated by the Burlington Housing Authority and some single family homes. Surveillance equipment and monitors for the substation have been purchased and additional lighting added to the parking area of Tucker Street Apartments. A fence was erected around the perimeter of Tucker Street Apartments to prevent entrance of non-residents to the rear of the complex and a new playground established near the police substation. The substation became operational in January, 2000. The Burlington Police Department will be using the substation 24 hours a day, seven days a week and this will provide high visibility of the police officers in the neighborhood. In addition, the officers periodically provide programs about drug prevention for the children. Grant funds were also used to purchase a mobile neighborhood network center. LabCorp provided computer equipment for use in the center and tentatively plan to swap out periodically as they update their computer hardware. Volunteers from Guilford Community College will be providing training in computer skills. Residents are participating in a Neighborhood Crime Watch Program and local churches are providing programs for the children and conducting services for the neighborhood.

3145 Welfare Reform Liason Project, Inc.

The Welfare Reform Liaison Project, Inc. (WRLP), is a nonprofit organization that has established nontraditional partnerships linking the faith-based community with private foundations, charitable groups, volunteers, and professional staff to address issues of welfare reform, empower people, and promote jobs and economic opportunity. WRLP, using a holistic approach, provides training, educational opportunities, financial assistance, mentors, and job placement assistance. Low-income individuals attend a 9 week training course emphasizing job readiness skills, gain work experience in WRLP-operated distribution centers, receive mentoring form Project volunteers, and receive job placement assistance from Project staff. With financial commitments in place, and staff and volunteers from the community. Since its beginning, more than 50 families have participated in the job training program and over 5,000 individuals have benefited from the partnership with WRLP, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, United Way, and Gifts-In Kind by receiving new clothing and other new merchandise.

3159 BAND-Wagon Blitz

The project involves (1) the construction of a distinctively names and showcased subdivision of 50 three-bedroom, two-bedroom and covered porch single family homes in the first phase (Fall 1999), 10 exterior designs, on 42-acre donated land, under roof in a three-day "blitz" involving licensed contractors and 400 corporate and community volunteers from 43 organizations and selected donated construction materials, and a replicating second phase (June 2000), involving 50 additional three-bedroom homes, (2) homeowners preparation for more than 1,000 (revolving HORD* program customers below 65% county median income), mortgage origination for nine financial institutions under an $8 million credit line, and placement (homeowner-ship) at $68,000-$72,000 each (with "soft" second mortgages) for 50 families (Phase I) and an additional 50 families (Phase II), at an initial partnership pre-development investment of more than $3 million (Phase I) and an additional $3 million (Phase II).

3212 Affordable Housing Direct Homeownership

The Direct Homeownership Assistance Program is a public/private partnership between the City of Gastonia and local lending institutions to assist qualified low and moderate income applicants with the purchase of affordable housing. The City provides 100 percent down payment and closing costs assistance in the form of a soft second mortgage secured by a Note and Deed of Trust. The average down payment and closing cost assistance is $3,500 with a homebuyer contribution of $500. Participating lenders developed affordable lending programs as a result of the Community Reinvestment Act and modified their loan products to take advantage of the City's Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program. Affordable means the applicant's housing expense cannot exceed 30 percent of monthly gross income. In exchange of rthe lending institutions providing loans under favorable terms, the City has agreed to several measures that reduce cost and risk to the lenders providing the loans. These measures include program administration, pre-qualifying of applicants, conducting inspections and coordinating the draw process if applicable.

Content Archived: April 20, 2011