HUD Region VI: No. 11-17 Patricia Campbell (817) 978-5974/(817) 681-9741 |
For Release Friday March 18, 2011 |
HUD AWARDS GRANT TO CITY OF SHREVEPORT/NW LOUISIANA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS TO REVITALIZE ALLENDALE/LEDBETTER HEIGHTS AREAS
City is one of 17 nationwide to receive new HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant
NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that the City of Shreveport/NW Louisiana Council of Governments is one of 17 awardees of planning grants through the Department's new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative. The City and the NW Louisiana COG, along with their partners, MHSM Architects, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Caddo Parish Public School System and Volunteers of America, will use the two-year, $250,000 planning grant to help transform the Allendale and Ledbetter Heights areas, including Galilee Majestic Heights apartments and the site of the former Jackson Heights public housing complex, into a new viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhood.
HUD's new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CN), building on the successes of the HOPE VI Program, promotes a comprehensive approach to transforming distressed areas of concentrated poverty by linking housing improvements with a wider variety of public services including schools, public transit and employment opportunities.
"President Obama has said that there is no greater economic policy than one that invests in our children's future, but that's not possible if we leave a whole generation of children behind in our poorest neighborhoods," said HUD Regional Administrator C. Donald Babers. "Choice Neighborhoods is a new Administration program designed to transform not
just housing in distressed areas, but the entire community."
The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is a centerpiece of the Obama Administration's interagency Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative - a collaboration between the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Justice, Treasury and Health and Human Services- to support the ability of local leaders from the public and private sectors and attract the private investment needed to transform distressed neighborhoods into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods with the affordable housing, safe streets and good schools every family needs.
The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments/City of Shreveport and their partners will use their grant to create
a Transformation Plan targeting Allendale and Ledbetter Heights, two inner-city neighborhoods marked by high abandonment, urban decay, severe poverty, high crime, and unemployment. More than 43 percent of the neighborhood's residents are living in poverty and the unemployment rate is almost 14 percent.
The neighborhoods are linked together by the former Jackson Heights public housing development, which was demolished in 2006 due to the severity of its physical deterioration. To date, the 270 demolished units from this development have not been replaced.
The two neighborhoods, the Jackson Heights site and the Galilee Majestic Arms development will be included in the planning process. Galilee Majestic Arms is a 75-unit HUD Section 202 building that currently houses 74 elderly and disabled residents.
The plan will also strengthen connections with neighborhood social service providers and schools.
HUD received 119 applications for CN Planning Grants; 17 grants were awarded nationally totaling $4 million. After completing their plans, grantees will be eligible to compete in future years for HUD Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants, which, if successful, could bring additional dollars to the grantees' communities to assist in their transformation efforts.
Congress approved the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative with the passage of HUD's FY2010 budget, allowing HUD to use $65 million in funding to provide competitive grants to assist in the transformation, rehabilitation and preservation of public housing and privately owned HUD-assisted housing.
###
HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.