Outcome
Participating neighborhoods are more competitive with other healthy neighborhoods in that they attract the resources of existing residents, new homebuyers, developers and other investors.
Strategy
The old adage "What you see is what you get" is all too true for distressed neighborhoods. Deteriorating physical conditions create an image of decline, which makes existing residents less likely to invest time and money improving their homes and makes developers, realtors and prospective homebuyers less likely to make thier own investments. When people choose to invest elsewhere, deterioration can become a downward spiral.
To achieve physical revitalization, Community Impact works to improve a declining neighborhood's image, physical conditions and competitiveness in the real estate market. Early on, residents take the lead in "pride" projects such as gateway beautification, installation of street sign toppers with the name of the neighborhood, distribution and display of porch banners depicting the neighborhood logo, etc. These highly visible projects build neighborhood pride and create a "buzz" in the neighborhood that things are beginning to change. Later, Community Impact targets areas where blight is concentrated by transforming key blocks using tools such as a property acquisition fund, homeowner façade grants and homebuyer incentive grants. We also recruit development partners to build infill housing where there is a concentration of vacant lots.