Housing GSO: HRA Greensboro Affordable Housing Plan

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY

NOTES | Community Engagement Meetings

October 15, 2019 Meeting with Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro

Attendees from: Elaine Ostrowski, Kevin Lundy, Tara McKenzie Sandercock, Walker Sanders

• Foundation is interested in concept of a preservation fund for NOAH • Greensboro Housing Development Partnership could be part of fund o Develops, but doesn’t manage, properties • Questions for Greensboro to think about in designing a fund: o Who will stand up fund? o Who has capacity to manage properties? o

What would be impact of preservation fund in Greensboro? What would be the right size and scope?

• Foundation funds Building Stronger Neighborhoods Initiative, in collaboration with the City and other funders. Program provides small grants to do neighborhood improvement projects (beautification, health, youth programming, capacity building). Coalition of foundation and community members to make decisions – intersection of grassroots and institutional. o Annually making 20-25 grants, ~40 neighborhoods, grants of $20K - $40K. o Close to $500K granted out over the years, building relationships across the City. o 2 nd Greensboro Neighborhood Leadership Summit in Spring 2020 o Organization has morphed over time in terms of staffing – right now we have Building Stronger Neighborhoods liaison who goes out to community meetings, we have community organizer on staff – working to help neighborhoods advance their goals, access institutional resources. Neighborhood liaisons can tell you what units are problems and need to be fixed. • Foundation, City and Housing Coalition’s Landlord-Tenant Partnership program: Funded mostly by private donations to relocate people. • Culture of community partnerships – perception that City is getting better at embracing neighborhoods. How do we further build out partnerships? o NDD can be a coordinator, organizing meetings with representatives from different departments, establish regular forums to help liaise with neighborhood groups and advocates. • Identified neighborhoods for revitalization: o Building Stronger Neighborhoods funds each of these neighborhoods o Westerwood is an area that is ripe for gentrification, given proximity to College Hill • Smith Homes: This should be going for a Choice Neighborhood Grant o People First approach to relocation – move people from Smith Homes to areas of opportunity • Foundation supports City Emergency funds, but process is onerous, requires new contracts with City regularly. Now that City has dedicated staff person (Liz), what is the right fund source? How can we make federal funds work in an emergency? • Funding sources: City needs to fully fund the Nussbaum Fund. This would be $3M a year if fully funded.

HR&A Advisors, Inc.

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