Regional Administrator Rick Garcia
December 16, 2010
Grand Opening of the Renaissance Lofts
for Homeless and Low-Income Working Households

Thank you John (Parvensky). Good morning! It's great to be in Colorado; East Colfax. It's great to be in Capital Hill. I also want to recognize the council members, consisting of my two former colleagues.

First of all, join me in acknowledging and giving John Parvensky and the Colorado Coalition for Homeless staff a round of applause for their unending efforts to open the Renaissance Lofts.

Regional Administrator Rick Garcia shows off recognition award

This project is in many ways personal. I recall talking about the range of time it takes to accomplish these successfulhousing projects---anywhere, and also here, in our own community, here in Denver. But today is personal. A number of years ago, I recall John Parvensky coming to the Denver City Council and their work became known as the Proclamation Projects, to receive low income housing tax credits they had to give notice. They were serious about their projects going forward; although their work really just started. The work of the neighborhoods, the work in the communities;their findings and years of wrangling and trying to put the deals together are long endeavors. This is one of many that has come out of the ground and to fruition.

So even though I no longer serve on the Denver City Council, this is rewarding as I witness today's great dedication and grand opening. It's a very personal accomplishment and great work of my two former colleagues; Jeanne Robb and Carla Madison. Well done! Well done!

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan sends his greetings and his congratulations to the opening dedication of this fine Renaissance Project development. He was originally invited to attend, but he passed the invitation to me and said "Rick you're in town, you can go, and you can represent me."

I also want to acknowledge several United States Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Community Planning Development Office staff who are also present from our Region VIII Office.

Ending homelessness has become the mantra at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Not just reducing homelessness; but really attempting to end it. Ending homelessness has been a key initiative of President Obama and Secretary Shaun Donovan. They understand that there are individuals in our community who may suffer from mental illness; or a series of addictions; maybe who have served our Nation --- our Veterans; possibly those who are victims of foreclosure.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness recently delivered to the President the nation's first ever comprehensive federal strategy to end homelessness, building upon established interagency partnerships such as HUD-VASH to help homeless veterans and leveraging new collaborations through the Interagency Council on Homelessness. I have re-organized a re-energized regional federal interagency council on homelessness to work on ending homelessness here.

Regional Administrator Rick Garcia accepts plaque from John Parvensky

Shift to Prevention: In the last decade, we have proven that we can house anyone – making great progress in developing new approaches to tackle chronic homelessness and improving the technology of combining housing and supportive services.

With new tools at our disposal—from the HEARTH Act, to the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, to our own increased investment - our goal now is to prevent homelessness before it happens, saving money for taxpayers and emotional trauma for families at risk.

Increased Assistance: HUD is proving its commitment to prevent and end homelessness through increased investments in rental assistance, housing assistance and supportive services - and by working to move homeless families and individuals to permanent housing.

Permanent supportive housing both:
-Ends homelessness for individuals whom many thought would always live on our streets and in shelters, and

-Saves taxpayers money by interrupting their costly cycling through shelters, emergency rooms, detox centers, and even hospitals.

HUD is proud to be your partner on this grand opening day of the significantly needed 98-unit housing complex for 50 homeless and 48 working households. As a Denver City Council member, I am proud to see the project come to fruition.

The Renaissance Lofts property received HUD's 2008 Supportive Housing Program grant: $840,860.
The funds were used for:
New Construction -$400,000
Supportive Services -$159,000
Operating Costs -$231,820
HMIS -$10,000 (Homeless Management Information System)
Administration -$40,040

Additionally, the City and County of Denver provided $1,000,000 in HUD's HOME funds.

As the Senior Advisor to Secretary Donovan on Sustainability, we applaud your efforts to include solar panels, energy-efficient appliances and enhanced insulation. Your upfront energy conservation efforts will reduce maintenance and energy costs and help create a healthier environment.

We appreciate working with you as our partners to end homelessness. Congratulations!

Slideshow of the Lofts (www.coloradocoalition.org/what_we_do/what_we_do_housing/Renaissance_Uptown_Lofts.aspx)

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