The City of Phoenix accepted a $2.5 million grant from the federal government to continue revitalization efforts in the Edison-Eastlake neighborhood near downtown.
Richard Monocchio directs HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing.
“It's giving families what government should provide,” he said. “Because every family deserves this.”
Monocchio said he wants the new funding to show HUD’s dedication to monitoring and completing projects.
“We awarded the funding initially for this development in 2018,” Monocchio said. “Now, since then, a lot's happened, right? Costs have gone up. The price of housing is, construction has gone up. So, I think it's important to understand that we're watching. And we saw that this great project in Phoenix, the next phase, needed some help to close.”
Monocchio emphasized how offerings like Head Start programs and an increased focus on housing construction will go a long way in working toward “lifting everybody in this country.”
City Council member Kesha Hodge Washington said the new infusion of funds roughly six years later will help sustain and continue community development.
“Our HUD Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant funds were critical to helping the city develop Soluna, which is now this beautiful 177-unit mixed-income apartment community that was completed in 2022,” said Hodge Washington. “Housing is just one component, though. We’re invested in neighborhood revitalization and beautification, something that Edison Eastlake residents specifically told us were very important to us. (sic) So this is a very exciting time for this community as we continue to invest.”
Jazmin Rivera lives in Soluna Apartments.
“I think being a part of the programs and everything that moved at the time that I got here, because I feel like that's where it all began to sort of take place,” Rivera said, referring to the programs that came from the initial $30 million HUD grant in 2018, which also helped build the apartment complex she calls home.
“It really changed me and saved me at a very young age,” she said, “getting involved in my community.”
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