HUD FUNDS STRENGTHEN SOUTH PHOENIX AREA VISITED BY PRESIDENT

PHOENIX, AZ - President Clinton today visited two businesses in the South Phoenix Enterprise Community that are creating jobs with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Enterprise Community designation for the area in 1994 made it eligible for additional HUD assistance.

The President's trip to South Phoenix - one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city - was designed to call attention to the need for investment in communities with untapped potential as new markets. South Phoenix was the fifth stop on the President's four-day tour of such communities.

Recipients of HUD assistance in South Phoenix that the President visited include Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), a small business incubator in South Phoenix that received $140,000 in HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.

CPLC's incubator and other business support has provided technical assistance to more than 184 businesses. There are currently five businesses operating at the incubator: Aztec Accounting and RMS Consulting are two service-related businesses. There is also a publisher (El Sol Newspaper), a non-profit organization (Urban Coalition West), and a for-profit subsidiary of CPLC (Tiempe, Inc.).

CPLC is providing housing education, financing and sponsorship to small and minority owned businesses. CPLC is a HUD-certified Housing Counseling agency that offers services to low- and moderate-income residents.

In Phoenix, CPLC built or rehabilitated 36 homes with HUD assistance. Since 1993 HUD has given over $375,000 in grants to CPLC's De Colores Domestic Violence Shelter to help with its remodeling and expansion.

The President also visited La Canasta Mexican Foods, Inc., a female owned, minority restaurant and tortilla factory. La Canasta used $26,000 in HUD and private funds to resurface a 17,000 square-foot parking lot, install two signs, and paint two of its buildings. In all, HUD has invested over $144 million in Phoenix since 1993, helping local leaders to trigger markets in key under-served communities, such as South Phoenix.

The city of Phoenix's Expansion Assistance and Development Program has used $400,000 of CDBG funds to secure over $3.7 million in private capital. One of the most successful program recipients in the Enterprise Community is Moreno Welding. Founder Leonard Moreno started the business with $100 and will gross about $1.5 million this year.

Among those in attendance during the President's visit to South Phoenix were recently recruited Youthbuild participants. HUD has contributed nearly $2.3 million to Phoenix's Youthbuild initiative. Youthbuild funds programs that help young high school dropouts obtain education, employment skills, and work experience in a construction trade.

Content Archived: January 20, 2009