| HUD No. 00-251 | |
| Further Information: | For Release |
| In the Washington, DC area: 202/708-0685 | Sunday |
| Or contact your local HUD office | September 24, 2000 |
CUOMO OPENS NEW STOREFRONT IN SANTA ANA
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido today opened the newest HUD Storefront Office, where Southern California residents, organizations, businesses and local governments can get important information about buying and renting homes, filing housing complaints and obtaining loans. The office will also provide technical assistance for people starting businesses, expanding job opportunities and stimulating community revitalization.
Cuomo announced the Storefront opening during the first day of a three-day swing through 20 California cities.
"It's part of our HUD Next Door initiative," Cuomo said, "and part of our commitment to be a good neighbor. Under one roof we've put all the tools and information that any consumer will need."
For example, Cuomo said, the information, which is available in English and Spanish, can help homebuyers with tips and help them find information about mortgages, rehabilitation financing and lenders.
The new HUD Storefront in Santa Ana is located at 1600 North Broadway, Suite 101. The highly visible, street-level office is staffed by six HUD Community Builders and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number is (714) 796-5577. The same information is available 24 hours a day through the use of a "touch screen" computer HUD kiosk, located outside the Storefront.
Along with the HUD Storefront, the HUD Santa Ana Office employs more than 135 staff in the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Homeownership Center. The Santa Ana Storefront serves Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
Mayor Pulido said, "HUD's new Storefront Office will help strengthen our neighborhoods by helping people find homes, start businesses and grow our community."
Cuomo said that Community 2020™, HUD's computer mapping software, is also available at all HUD Storefronts and all other HUD offices nationwide. The software provides information about all HUD programs, such as location, their purpose and dollar amounts. People can also access HUD E-MAPS on the agency's homepage, which provides extensive information about environmental hazards throughout the U.S.
The Santa Ana Storefront also includes a community room equipped with the latest telecommunications equipment, which enables visitors to view satellite broadcasts, teleconferences and videoconferences.
Cuomo added that HUD encourages public organizations and groups to use the Santa Ana Storefront Office to hold community meetings, view satellite-training presentations, and log onto HUD's homepage. In addition, school and community groups are invited to the office to hear presentations on how HUD programs can benefit people in their neighborhoods.
While in Santa Ana Cuomo also presented a plaque to the non-profit organization Casa Teresa, based in Orange, CA., for 25 years of service to the community in providing shelter to homeless unwed mothers. The plaque was presented to Executive Director Michelle Anstadt.
The HUD Secretary also toured the Jeffrey-Lynn project in Anaheim, which is using $6.1 million in HUD CDBG and HOME funds as part of a $52 million neighborhood renovation project. The Jeffrey-Lynn neighborhood consists of approximately 31 acres of medium-density, multi-family residential housing built in the �50's and 60's. The City will bulldoze 2,300 homes in one of the poorest neighborhoods in an effort to revitalize the area, which is located near Disneyland. The plan will consolidate 54 apartment buildings into a gated affordable housing complex; demolish six eight-unit apartment buildings; gut 438 one-bedroom apartments and remodel them as 367 larger apartments.
Cuomo will deliver the keynote address Monday at Creating Partnerships for Renewed Hope, a HUD-sponsored conference that will bring together community and faith-based organizations, public officials, business leaders and HUD officials. Cuomo's trip concludes Tuesday in Los Angeles at Closing the Gap: Investing in America's Communities, an economic development conference that will focus on effective strategies, tools, and resources for creating partnerships that address the needs of America's distressed communities.
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