Carver Park Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy & Plan

Carver Park Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy and Plan is one of many Success Stories that have been locally nominated for recognition in celebration of CDBG's 30th Anniversary.

Success Story Details

Success Story Description

The Carver Park Neighborhood is a one-half square mile (22-block) neighborhood located in Yuma, Arizona. The Carver Park Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy is a comprehensive and multifaceted strategy to revitalize a neighborhood that exhibited an extensive amount of distress and poverty. The neighborhood is one of the oldest in the City and one of the poorest in the country: with a poverty rate of 48 percent, a low and moderate-income rate of 78 percent and an unemployment rate of nearly 30%. It was also most noted in the community as a haven for drugs, gangs and violent crime.

At the same time, the neighborhood is ethnically rich and resident to generations of families. In July 2000, when the project was initiated, it consisted of approximately 2,042 residents and a variety of religious and non-profit entities. Utilizing a neighborhood-driven, grass-roots approach, the neighborhood developed a revitalization strategy and plan to address its many economic, physical and social ills. The Revitalization Strategy and Plan consisted of seven major components (Safety/Security; Neighborhood Appearance; Housing; Infrastructure; Social Services; Workforce Development and Economic Development).

Residents of the neighborhood, local/state/federal government organizations, the faith-based community, non-profit organizations and the private sector all came together to implement the plan. Three years later the neighborhood has undergone an astounding transformation. Over $27,000,000 has been invested. The neighborhood is now clean and safe. Over 60 homes have been substantially rehabilitated. Two non-profit housing development agencies were created and assisted in the construction of new housing for homeownership and rental. The private sector recognized the opportunity and developed over 120 new housing units. Numerous neighborhood facilities were developed, including a state-of-the-art Neighborhood Center and an Adult Daybreak Center. The local community college was awarded a Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to develop a Community Learning Center. Crime is down. Numerous social serving programs were implemented by local non-profit agencies. Property values, educational attainment and community pride is up. The foregoing are just a few of the many accomplishments attained in the neighborhood.

The Carver Park initiative is a shining example that an impoverished neighborhood, where residents had given up hope, can become safe and clean when federal, state and local government officials work cohesively with the residents, faith-based organizations, non-profit organizations and the private sector to address a common goal for the common good.