Mayor Recommits To Housing Pledge

By OSHRAT CARMIEL
Courant Staff Writer

April 10 2003

Facing a group of city, state and federal leaders, Mayor Eddie A. Perez reinforced his campaign pledge Wednesday to boost Hartford's dismal homeownership rate, announcing that he may have commitments of about $3 million to help do so.

Presenting an ambitious plan to invest millions in select city neighborhoods, Perez said that the initial cost of the plan will be shouldered by gifts from the region's largest corporations, including Phoenix, Aetna and CIGNA, which have contributed a few hundred thousand dollars each. Perez also has reserved $1.2 million worth of federal grants for the plan that will be available in July, pending council approval.

And in a surprise announcement, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said that his agency would give $155,000 to the city to help low-income families with down payments on new homes. The president and chief executive officer of Travelers Foundation pledged $255,000 more from Travelers Property Casualty Corp.

But aside from the up-front infusion of new cash, much of the mayor's plan, which calls for sprucing up some of the city's stable but tired-looking blocks, will rely on resources that the city already has.

The one difference: Those resources will now be concentrated into select areas where they can have more lasting results, rather than be scattered throughout the city to please as many constituents as possible.

"The money is already [coming in, but] we're not spending it smart enough," Perez said. "We need to make investments where the investment will go the longest."

And so Perez's strategy is to pick three to five sections of different city neighborhoods through which to funnel those millions of dollars - money to be used on anything from home improvements to the creation of welcome wagons. He also will select from 18 to 24 single blocks in the city, through which to concentrate similar, smaller investments.

Those streets, dubbed "Rising Star Blocks" and "Pride Blocks," will get priorities in city services, putting them atop the list for such things as pothole repairs, rodent control and housing code enforcement.

The hope is that improvements in appearance to those areas will create a "buzz" that translates into greater demand for housing and higher real estate values. Perez's goal is to boost the city's homeownership rate from its current 25 percent to 30 percent in five years.

For the Rising Star Blocks, a cluster of blocks which could receive at least a million dollars each, the mayor has narrowed eligible candidates to a list of 10 - all places, he said, where there are few boarded-up buildings, minimal housing vacancies and no more than two commercial strips.

For the Pride Blocks, the mayor is asking neighborhoods to nominate their own, and provided an e-mail address, prideblocks@hartford.gov, where they can do so.

Jackie Fongemie, chairwoman of the Behind the Rocks Problem Solving Committee, said Wednesday that she was already compiling a mental list of blocks that her group might nominate. Of course, she said, she wouldn't mind if her neighborhood is chosen as one of the mayor's select "Rising Star Blocks."

"I'm hoping that they choose this neighborhood because there's a lot of blighted property and we need a chance to get on our feet," Fongemie said.

Perez said he was encouraging a healthy competition among neighborhoods, all vying to showcase their high points.

"I don't consider those folks who don't get selected losers," Perez said. "They'll have a second and third opportunity [to apply]."

The mayor said he would need to raise $6 million to $7 million in added funds for the plan. But a lot of the mayor's plan involves targeting what the city already has.

The city, for example, might target planned money for streetscape improvements in those areas designated as Pride Blocks or Rising Star Blocks. Federal money that the city gets to help rehabilitate homes or help with the down payment of homes also might be concentrated on those blocks.

"When decisions are being made," said Matt Hennessy, the mayor's chief of staff, "it's about where are you getting the most bang for your buck."