Office of Community Planning and Development
Good Stories

• 2005
• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001

The following stories describe successes communities have made in using HUD's Community Development Programs.

Downtown Revitalization in Ozark, Missouri Wins Award
December 7, 2005
The Missouri Department of Economic Development recently received a "Best Practice" award from HUD for their funding support of the City of Ozark, Missouri downtown revitalization.
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Mapping Neighborhood Success
March 18, 2005
Organizations in West Michigan have clearly gotten the message and are continuing to put HUD's mission to work in communities across the Michigan map.
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2004

Celebrating 30 Years of the CDBG Program
December 20, 2004
From its conception, the Lavell Village multifamily affordable rental housing development has been an innovative and creative endeavor.
more... | More 30th Anniv. Good Stories

When Opportunity Knocks
November 29, 2004
Eddie Smith was born and raised in the Martin Luther King community in north Shreveport. A career in the Army took him away from home but when he retired from the service in 1985, he and his family returned to the community of his birth.
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Hope For the Elderly and Disabled
November 24, 2004
Alene Howard has family in Lubbock, but she admits to sometimes being lonely, but the Lubbock Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers Program (LIVCaP) is reaching out by organizing visits with her at least once a week. Ms. Howard has been receiving visits for about three years.
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Housing Authority Family Moves into HUD-Owned Property
September 7, 2004
Lehigh Acres, FL - On Friday, August 27, under a bright Florida sun, and just two weeks after landfall of Hurricane Charley, Governor Jeb Bush and HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson presented the keys of a HUD-owned property to Robert and Valerie Hamilton and their four children.
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Jacksonville's Royal Terrace Comprehensive Improvements Project Receives Statewide Recognition
July 12, 2004
A seven-year effort to completely makeover one of Jacksonville's poorest neighborhoods was recognized through a 2004 Florida Community Development Achievement Award made to the City by the Florida Community Development Association at its annual statewide conference in July. The Royal Terrace Neighborhood received over $20 million in HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds over this seven-year period. Other HUD program funds, state funds, revenue bond resources, Small Business Administration loans, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds, Duval County Health Department funds, corporate donations, faith based and foundation donations, and private investment supplemented this funding bringing the total investment to $25,112,424.
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Seeing Green in Shreveport
July 8, 2004
Community-based non-profit Shreveport Green, in association with the Shreveport HUD office, celebrated Earth Day this year by offering a bald cypress tree to fifty first-time homebuyers.
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New Housing Provides Hope in Texas
June 18, 2004
Garden Terrace is the first housing solution designed exclusively for single working adults, retirees, homeless and people with disabilities that meet the top recommendations of housing experts in Austin, and around the country.
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Historic South Carolina Textile Mill Becomes Home for Seniors
June 3, 2004
The Highland Park Mill in Rock Hill, a historic textile mill built in 1894, served the South Carolina mill-village for years as its employment hub. Times changed, however, and decades ago the mill went out of business and became an unused sore spot in the City.
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History & Homeownership on the Move in Richmond
June 1, 2004
Last week, just days before the start of National Homeownership Month, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) went "the extra mile" - actually, more like five blocks - to preserve a piece of homeownership history.
more... | RRHA (http://www.rrha.org/)

Big Idea Helps A Small Texas Town
May 10, 2004
What do you get when a city, a state, a private developer, a Section 8 agency and the federal government team up? In Woodville, Texas, it adds up to a new opportunity for homeownership.
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Smitherman Village - Affordable Housing in Troy, North Carolina
April 13, 2004
This program enables participates to rent their new homes for two years. During these two years a home counselor provides families with educational training and counseling on owning a home.
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CDBG Good Stories: Centralia Center
April 12, 2004
A multi-use facility for seniors puts back into use a 80,000 square foot, vacant building.
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Saving "Soles" in Shreveport, Louisiana
April 7, 2004
Using CDBG funds, the Shreveport department of community development helped Ivory Daniels develop business plans and approved a low-interest loan.
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A Chilly Reality for South Dakota Homeless
March 2, 2004
More than 75 homeless advocates from HUD-supported groups donned heavy winter jackets, snow boots, mittens and several layers of clothing and braved a recent 13-degree February morning in Sioux Falls.
more... | Pay It Forward (http://www.humanlikeyou.com/) | Heartland House Program (http://www.interlakescap.com/Trial/housing_services.htm)

Breathing Life into a Michigan Neighborhood
December 19, 2003
What began in 1995 as a glimmer of hope for a distressed Detroit suburb has now become a success story for how smart revitalization can transform even the worst of neighborhoods.
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A Poor Man's Supper
December 2, 2003
Each year, just prior to Thanksgiving, an annual event dating back more than 30 years takes place at a soup kitchen in Shreveport. Christian Services, a local non-profit, sponsors the "Poor Man's Supper," a fund-raising event.
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Block Grants and Bluegrass
November 17, 2003
The "B" and the "G" in "CDBG," of course, stands for "block grant." But soon, thanks to a project launched by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, many people may think that "B" and "G" stands for "bluegrass."
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$783 Million Plan To Spare New York Utility Customers The Costs Of Post 9-11 Restoration
September 15, 2003
New York utility consumers will be spared paying the costs of permanently restoring energy and telecommunications service to parts of Lower Manhattan damaged in the September 11th terrorist attacks.
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Senior Village Opens in Louisiana
September 8, 2003
In the heat of August, a group of believers in the power of grass roots community development gathered in Monroe, one of the nation's poorest cities, to mark the opening of the cornerstone of an innovative "continuum of care" senior village development.
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Safe Haven for Homeless Opens in Utah
September 2, 2003
On a warm afternoon in Salt Lake City during the dedication of permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals with chronic mental illness, all eyes were focused on Lynette as she told the audience, "This is the first sobriety I've had in 30 years...if it weren't for Safe Haven, I'd be dead."
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Edgerton Library
October 21, 2002
Edgerton Library is a prime example of what happens when a community comes together. With the support of HUD and community leaders, the people of Edgerton, Kansas made their dream come true.

Renovation of the Historic Eaton Hotel in Downtown Wichita, Kansas
August 1, 2002
The Eaton Hotel, once considered to be the finest hotel in the Great Plains, had been vacant and deteriorating for many years before the City of Wichita launched an aggressive campaign to save it.

Hartford, CT Celebrates CDBG Program and Success Creating a Brighter Future for City's Boys and Girls
April 15, 2002
America’s youth are the future of America, and Hartford, Connecticut recognized their own young residents as part of the city’s Celebration of National Community Development Week, April 1st - 5th.
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HUD Awards $1 Million Loan Commitment to Vacaville
March 29, 2002
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved $1 million in loan guarantee assistance to help build a new social service center in Vacaville, California, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez announced.
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HUD Helps State of Michigan Expand Habitat for Humanity Homeownership, Empowering "Can Do" Communities to Expand Habitat Partnerships
February 11, 2002
Through the effective use of HUD programs and local resourcefulness, Michigan has taken an active role in increasing homeownership throughout the state.
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2001

Bush Administration Awards $553 Million to California
July 18, 2001
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez announced communities across California will receive more than $553 million in federal assistance to stimulate local economies, promote affordable housing and help the homeless and persons living with AIDS.
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Grand Rapids, MI, Celebrates HUD's Community Development Block Grant Program with Virtual Reality Tour
May 17, 2001
The city held a special "Come Celebrate With Us!" event that took attendees on a Virtual Tour through a slide show featuring several organizations that were recipients of CDBG funds during the past year.
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