HUD RECOGNIZES 14 LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Yuma honored for Carver Park Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area

WASHINGTON - The Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced 14 communities are receiving HUD's Community Development Excellence Award for their outstanding work in using Community Development Block Grant funding to create better communities and to improve the lives of their lower income residents. HUD will formally present the awards tomorrow during a two-day national conference in Washington to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant Program.

Yuma was honored for its Carver Park Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area, a CDBG-funded project driven by
the neighborhood to aid in better housing and jobs in an area that has struggled with poverty and poor housing conditions.

"These communities are outstanding examples of how CDBG works," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "In a climate where results and performance count, these communities, and many others like them, are doing wonderful work building better neighborhoods and creating greater opportunities for their lower income residents."

In selecting these communities, HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development solicited recommendations
from the Department's field offices around the country. Each winning nominee represents a CDBG-funded project or initiative that has been completed, has completed a major phase, or has a proven track record of improving communities and benefiting the people who live in them, specifically lower income residents.

Background on CDBG

When President Gerald Ford signed the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 into law, state and local leaders around the country got a powerful new tool to help stimulate community development and job growth - the Community Development Block Grant Program. Thirty years later, CDBG continues to help more than a thousand communities to do what they could not accomplish themselves.

For the past 30 years, CDBG has awarded over $108 billion to state and local governments to target their own community development priorities. While, the rehabilitation of affordable housing has traditionally been the largest single use of the grants, CDBG is also an important catalyst for job growth and business opportunities. CDBG funds
are distributed by formula around the country based on a community's population, poverty levels, growth rate, housing overcrowding and the age of its housing stock.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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Yuma, Arizona

Carver Park Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area

The historic Carver Park Neighborhood is a 22-block area located in the older part of Yuma. The neighborhood is 73 percent Hispanic, has a high rate of unemployment with nearly half of its residents living in poverty. Much of the housing was substandard. Existing resources included a neighborhood park and several faith-based organizations.
For many years Carver Park was severely blighted with few prospects for revitalization.

When the decision was made to create a NRSA, input was gathered from the community to determine the needs and concerns of its residents. In this way, the plan became neighborhood driven. As a result, local partnerships were established. With the encouragement and technical assistance provided by HUD's Phoenix Office, the Carver Park NRSA Plan was approved on March 25, 2000.

Significant improvements and additions have been made to the housing stock. Thirty-six town homes and 89 units
of new rental housing (constructed supported by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) have been built. An additional 40 units of private single-family home development have been added to the housing stock. Approximately 53 single-family units have been rehabilitated. Two homes were reconstructed. HUD also approved a Section 108 loan guarantee for homeownership activities.

Considerable emphasis has also been placed upon reducing crime. The neighborhood received designation as an
official "Weed and Seed" site by the U. S. Department of Justice. In addition, more stringent application has been made with code enforcement and rental inspection programs. Several neighborhood cleanups were organized. A neighborhood newsletter was created. The community has received a Make-a-Difference Day National Award.

The Carver Park neighborhood just celebrated the opening of the Dr. Martin L. King Neighborhood Community Center,
a safe place for youth to gather. The improvements made in this neighborhood demonstrate grass roots community involvement and impressive leveraging of public and private funds and programs to maximize HUD CDBG funding. To date a total of $27.5 million has been leveraged for neighborhood revitalization from a total HUD investment of $4.1 million.