Jacksonville/Duval, Florida

Royal Terrace Neighborhood Comprehensive Infrastructure Improvement Project

The Royal Terrace neighborhood is one of the City of Jacksonville's oldest and poorest neighborhoods. The community is home to 4,286 residents with nearly 65 percent being of low- and moderate-income. The City has invested more than $20 million of CDBG funds to greatly revitalize the neighborhood. When non-CDBG funds are added to the revitalization effort, the cost exceeds $25 million. Much of this revitalization has been accomplished during the last seven years.

The improvements that resulted directly from CDBG include extensive drainage, sewer, paving, and curbs and gutter improvements. These have directly benefited all of the neighborhood residents. Since 1998, CDBG and HOME funds have been expended to rehabilitate the homes of 72 low- and moderate-income residents. In addition, CDBG-funded rehabilitation has resulted in 75 homes of low- and moderate-income persons being hooked up to sewer lines. A $700,000 Section 108 loan guarantee assisted with the rehabilitation of a 200-unit apartment complex where all of the residents receive Section 8 assistance. A private investor contributed $4.5 million to the rehabilitation.

CDBG funds also addressed part of the rehabilitation of vacant buildings that have now been converted into commercial facilities that house businesses. The converted facilities include a public dental clinic, community room, and a women's public health clinic. All the commercial facilities primarily serve the neighborhood. The commercial facilities are located at Royal Terrace Plaza I, and Royal Terrace Plaza II. Finally, the local Habit for Humanity Chapter (Habijax) has constructed 214 homes in the neighborhood since 1999. Of course, all of these homes were built for low- and moderate-income families that are now sharing in the American Dream of homeownership. The CDBG public facility improvements mentioned above had a direct and positive impact on the Habijax home construction in the neighborhood.