PETERSBURG NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION

Established by the Ford Foundation to facilitate community revitalization, Virginia LISC (formerly Richmond LISC) has been working in Richmond's central city and its aging suburbs since 1990. In that time we have provided consulting services, financing, and real estate development expertise, which has stimulated more than $250 million in community development. This investment has created over 2,500 quality affordable homes and apartments, and more than 150,000 square feet of community facility and/or commercial space - including two childcare centers.

Since July 2006, Virginia LISC has been bringing its resources to Petersburg. LISC actively works with the community in the revitalization of four central city neighborhoods ringing the downtown. Thanks to the generous support of The Cameron Foundation, Virginia LISC has brought the citizens of Petersburg together to create a community revitalization plan that improves housing, spurs economic development and improves services to families. Since the project's inception, Virginia LISC has developed indispensable relationships with city officials, concerned citizens, nonprofit groups, and local businesses to study the revitalization needs of Petersburg's neighborhoods. Through the planning process, leadership committees were established and more than 30 community volunteers are meeting regularly to guide the planning process and oversee plan implementation.

Rob Robinson, Principal at Urban Design Associates, a nationally known architectural firm, facilitated multiple community meetings to encourage neighborhood engagement. Public meetings were held on October 25, 2006 and January 26, 2007. These meetings and the input from over 1,000 citizens generated a community revitalization plan that is truly community-based.

Governor Timothy Kaine was the featured speaker at a breakfast meeting on March 20, 2007 in which the community revitalization plan was presented. The plan calls for the strategic revitalization of the four neighborhoods prioritized by Petersburg's citizens: Battersea, Blandford, Halifax, and Rome Street/Westview/Birdville. The plan can be downloaded by clicking here.

In addition to coordinating the community planning process, LISC provides consulting services, real estate development expertise, and financial resources to the revitalization of Petersburg.

A housing market analysis is one example of the technical assistance that we are bringing to Petersburg. To help ensure that the housing development we facilitate meets the community's current and changing needs, and to help the community plan its housing initiatives, we retained the national firm of Zimmerman/Volk Associates to conduct an analysis of the housing market in the four prioritized neighborhoods and the downtown. LISC is happy to provide the housing market analysis to developers and the general public by clicking here.

LISC has provided consulting services to Pathways, Inc. (formerly Petersburg Urban Ministries) for the past two years. These consulting services have assisted Pathways in strategic planning and organizational development - for which they have been recognized by The Cameron Foundation. Currently, LISC provides consulting services to the Restoration of Petersburg CDC, affiliated with Tabernacle Baptist Church. In addition, National LISC's Housing Authority Resource Center provides strategic planning services to the Petersburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority (PRHA).

In the past year, LISC has provided a $20,000 grant to Pathways, Inc. (formerly Petersburg Urban Ministries) to assist them in converting the former Safeway store on Washington Avenue into Pathway's new headquarters. We have also made a $100,000 loan to the Petersburg Library Foundation, which will enable that foundation to continue planning for the new public library. By investing $120,000 in Petersburg's central city, LISC is helping facilitate the creation of two public facilities that will provide badly needed services to Petersburg's citizens. These new facilities also send a message that Petersburg's rebirth is truly underway and will help attract additional investment to the urban core.

We have assisted Petersburg's development efforts by obtaining $1 Million in SPARC below-market rate mortgages from the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA). These SPARC funds will enable qualified first-time homebuyers to get low-interest mortgages on homes in the four neighborhoods.

We continue to work with our leadership groups, staff at the City and PRHA, as well as with various nonprofit and for-profit developers, and other stakeholders to identify the best opportunities for additional community development initiatives in the prioritized neighborhoods. For more information, please feel free to contact Veronica Jemmott of Virginia LISC at 804.358.7602 ext.16 or vjemmott@lisc.org