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.