HUD unit to support city's housing needs

Source: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20110429/NEWS01/104290353/1006/HUD-unit-support-city-s-housing-needs

Apr 29, 2011

Written byLUCAS K. MURRAY Courier-Post Staff

Within District 2 of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are 25 communities referred to as "high-priority investment communities" -- places where population growth and economic need are most dire.

Camden sits at the top of that list.

In the middle of a tour of the city Thursday, HUD Region II Regional Administrator Adolfo Carrion pledged to "bring the federal family here," in the form of a task force to address the city's housing and development needs.

"We're coming here to say we need to bring the federal agencies that make these significant investments and help the city develop its strategy for attracting industry and investment," he said.

For HUD, that means harnessing the resources of agencies that aid education, labor, small business and economic development to help the local community.

In his tour with Mayor Dana Redd, Carrion likened Camden to his native Bronx, where urban decay was once the norm. Recent government efforts have put the borough on the rebound.

The region, meanwhile, has unprecedented population growth, serving nearly 28 million people who live in New York and New Jersey. Within the next 50 years, an additional 120 million people are expected to be living in the U.S., a population Carrion predicted will be based largely in urban centers. He said that necessitates prudent planning.

"The challenge for us is to invest in the smartest way possible to assure we build communities that are economically competitive, environmentally sustainable and responsible and rich in opportunities," Carrion said.

Statistics from HUD show 85 percent of the population nationwide is focused in urban centers, where 83 percent of all jobs are located. Camden's population peaked just shy of 125,000 in the 1950s and has been on a downward slide ever since, the victim of declining industry and its accompanying poverty.

Carrion said while the "eds and meds" -- meaning Rutgers and Rowan universities and the city's hospitals -- are important to the economy, it's crucial to provide jobs in other fields.

"The premise is that if you have a strong urban America, you have a strong suburban, exurban and rural America, because these are the economic life centers and political life centers of our country."

About $100 million in HOPE VI grant money has been invested in the city through HUD since the early 1990s. Private developer Pennrose Properties and the nonprofit St. Joseph's Carpenter Society have built more than 500 mixed-income homes here. It's that type of development -- prevalent in Redd's native Centerville neighborhood -- that should be in Camden's future, the mayor said.

"We can all work together to stabilize our neighborhoods and strive to move Camden forward," Redd said, adding there have been more than 668 new low-income and market-rate townhomes built in the area in partnership with the Camden Housing Authority.

"I'm a believer in Camden's unique transformation, just by what we see here today in the Centerville community and on the south side."

In conjunction with Carrion's visit, it was announced that the Center for Family Services will receive nearly $241,000 to provide for those in need of housing through HUD. One grant will go toward five units for women who are the victims of domestic violence. A second grant will provide housing units near public transportation for two chronically homeless individuals.

Reach Lucas K. Murray at (856) 486-2476 or lkmurray@gannett.com