Housing program earns accolades for Providence
The National Community Development Association honors the city
for rehabilitating old homes in Elmwood and converting them to
affordable housing.
Monday, January 31, 2005,
BY KAREN A. DAVIS,
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE
-- The city recently received a national award for its support
of a renovation project that preserved historic homes by
turning them into affordable housing.
Mayor
David N. Cicilline recently accepted in Washington, D.C., the
firstTerrence R. Duvernay
HOME Program Award, given by the National Community
Development Association.
The award
recognizes the Melrose Preservation Project, which
rehabilitated historic homes in Elmwood and converted them to
47 units of affordable housing.
The
project, led by the Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services, was
in partnership with the city's Department of Planning and
Development and the Providence Preservation Society Revolving
Fund.
At a
celebration last year, coordinators of the revitalization
project said it was completed as a result of contributions by
private and public agencies, including the Local Initiatives
Support Corporation and the Rhode Island Housing &
Mortgage Finance Corporation.
Greater
Elmwood Neighborhood Services officials noted that the project
succeeded in transforming dilapitated Victorians and carriage
houses into safe, affordable housing for working families.
The
National Community Development Association, in giving the city
the award, described the project as an "exemplary affordable
housing project."
Providence
was among 17 communities nationwide to receive the award.
Other recipients included Brookline, Mass.; Austin, Texas, and
Newport News, Va.
The award
is named in memory of a past president of the
HOME Program and a strong advocate for affordable housing
programs.
Cicilline
said the city has spent the last two years attempting to make
affordable housing a reality by supporting renovation projects
during a period of rising housing costs.
In addition to the practical goal of creating much-needed
housing for families, Cicilline has said such projects also
serve to strengthen neighborhoods, preserve Elmwood's rich
historic character and improve the quality of life.
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