HUD awards $6.4 million to go towards residential construction and rehabilitation in the Baring Cross and Holt Neighborhoods 
On Friday, January 15 in a press conference, Senator Blanche Lincoln, Representative Vic Snyder and Mayor Patrick Hays announced that the North Little Rock Stable Communities Consortium had been awarded$6,444,347 through the second round funding of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  

Funds will be used in the Baring Cross and Holt Neighborhoods where high vacancy rates and blighted residential properties have caused community destabilization.  
 
Comprised of the City of North Little Rock, Argenta Community Development Corporation, the North Little Rock Housing Authority and Pulaski County Habitat for Humanity, the Consortium submitted a nationally competitive grant to HUD in July 2009 that would provide financing mechanisms in the form of grants and second loans for at least 55 homebuyers. It also proposed the creation of 135 units of affordable housing through new construction and rehabilitated vacant lots and foreclosed and abandoned homes.
 
These activities will benefit households whose income is at or below 120 percent of area median income, with 25 percent of the funds allotted for households at or below 50 percent of area median income. With these awarded funds, and the leveraging of up to $1,668,250 in other funds, Consortium will influence long-term economic benefits in both neighborhoods including the attraction of private developers and job creation.
 
The Consortium plans to enhance its NSP 2 program by ensuring that all newly constructed and rehabilitated homes will use a recognized green industry standard. This certification ensures that homes will use less energy, water, and natural resources, create less waste, and be more durable and comfortable for the residents.
 
The NSP 2 grant comes after the City of North Little Rock was awarded an NSP 1 grant for over $2 million in December 2009 by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority for the Baring Cross Neighborhood.  
 
According to HUD, approximately 500 NSP 2 requests were received totaling more than $15 billion.  Fifty-six applications from 28 states were funded for alloted $1.93 billion. The NSP was created under the American Reinvestment Recovery Act of 2008.  Additional information about the program can be found online by clicking here.

Argenta District Master Plan
In June 2009, Argenta CDC joined with the City of North Little Rock and a private developer to strengthen the revitalization of North Little Rock’s 500 hundred-acre downtown as a civic, commercial, and cultural destination through the development of a master plan.  The group retained the services of Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates, an award winning firm, to guide them through this unique public-private partnership that will lay the foundation for an implementation-focused plan that builds on Argenta’s history. In doing so, the master plan will be a model for how North Little Rock can revitalize other aging districts in a way that is environmentally, socially, and fiscally sustainable, thus benefiting the downtown area, North Little Rock, and the greater region in the process.  For additional information,  contact Brad Williams, CDC executive director, at 501-374-0622 or bwilliams@argentacdc.org.  You can also stay current about the master plan activities by visiting the Argenta Master Plan.

Argenta CDC Launches IDA Program
Argenta CDC is pleased to announce the launch of Assets for Arkansans, a matched savings, individual development account program for low-to-moderate income families in Pulaski County who wish to purchase a home/make home repairs, attend school/ receive additional job training or start/ expand a small business.  For every $1 that is placed in a savings account, Argenta CDC matches it $3. At present, the program provides a match of up to $2,000 for an individual and $4,000 for a household.  Click here to download information and an enrollment kit.  To discuss the program in detail, please contact Shanta Nunn-Baro at 501-374-0622 or sbaro@argentacdc.org.   There are a limited number of openings for the program. Assets for Arkansans is funded by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, Southern Good Faith Fund, Assets for Independence and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Argenta NeighborWorks® Homeownership Center faciliates $6 million on mortgage loans
In spite of tightening credit markets, the homeownership center facilitated approximately $6 million in mortgage loans. Through counseling, homebuyer education classes and financial institution referrals, 59 Arkansans can proudly call themselves first time homebuyers.

Briefs and Links

2010 Homebuyer Education Class Schedule (pdf)

Everything You Wanted to Know About the 2009 Homebuyer Tax Credit from -NAR

New Homeownership Stability Plan for Eligible Borrowers to Refi or Modify

See a virtual tour of our green homes