JPMorgan Chase Commits More Than $1.2 Million to Help Revitalize Detroit’s Neighborhoods
Six JPMorgan Chase-backed programs will help stabilize neighborhoods
through targeted efforts that maintain affordable housing, eliminate
blight, and attract new businesses
DETROIT–(BUSINESS WIRE)–JPMorgan Chase & Co. today announced more than $1.2 million for the
ongoing revitalization of Detroit’s neighborhoods. Six community
development programs that support Detroit continued recovery through
housing development, blight removal, new business creation, parent
education, and neighborhood beautification projects have received grants
as part of JPMorgan Chase’s $100 million commitment. The new grants will
support Southwest Housing, Vanguard Community Development Corporation,
Grandmont Rosedale Community Stabilization Program, Eastside Community
Network, Michigan Community Resources, and Community Development
Advocates of Detroit.
“These targeted efforts provide Detroiters with the local resources they
need to invest in the future of their own neighborhoods and create more
widely shared prosperity,” said Janis Bowdler, Head of Community
Development Initiatives, JPMorgan Chase. “By investing in these
programs, the quality of entire neighborhoods can improve as housing
prices stabilize, blighted homes are removed or renovated, and education
programs offer residents the support they need to own a home.”
These investments will provide the necessary capital to local community
development organizations to address the drivers of economic opportunity
in neighborhoods. The funds will help to finance key programs in
neighborhoods such as Cody Rouge, North End, Michigan-Livernois, Hubbard
Farms/Hubbard Richard, Marygrove-Fitzgerald and the Lower Eastside.
“There is a lot of work yet to do, but Detroit is on the road to
recovery. By investing in programs like this that make a real difference
to our neighborhoods, we are seeing progress accelerate,” said
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “Neighborhoods like the North End and
Michigan-Livernois are getting better because of the programs JPMorgan
Chase is supporting and the great work of our community partners.”
To help stabilize and revitalize Detroit’s neighborhoods, JPMorgan
Chase’s new community development investments include:
Southwest Solutions ($800,000): Southwest Solutions is engaged in
a comprehensive effort to improve lives and neighborhoods in Detroit
through a broad range of programs in human services, economic
development and resident engagement. Among its programs, Southwest
Solutions provides assistance to Detroiters seeking to better their
economic future through homeownership and financial coaching. They also
stabilize and strengthen neighborhoods through numerous initiatives,
including boarding-up abandoned properties targeted for re-use,
maintaining and activating vacant lots, and organizing neighborhood
beautification activities with residents.
“JPMorgan Chase has been a true partner in our community redevelopment
work in neighborhoods across Detroit, providing critical support for our
affordable housing, homeownership and financial literacy programs,” said John
Van Camp, President and CEO of Southwest Solutions. “JPMorgan
Chase’s substantial investment in Southwest Solutions reflects a shared
belief that the wellbeing of people and place are intertwined.”
Vanguard Community Development Corporation (CDC) ($150,000): Vanguard
CDC collaborates with the city of Detroit Housing and Real Estate
Development Department to acquire and rehabilitate vacant housing
through their North End HomeBuild program. This program works to
preserve the North End’s beautiful historic housing stock, create and
maintain additional affordable housing, stabilize the community,
leverage previous investment, eliminate blight, produce more affordable
homes, rescue historic properties, increase economic equity, prevent
displacement, and create a welcoming, safe, and attractive community
environment.
“JPMorgan Chase has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to help
rehabilitate the community in keeping with its unique historic flavor,”
said Pamela Martin- Turner, President and CEO, Vanguard Community
Development Corporation. “Instead of tearing down valuable property,
we are glad to work together to fix what’s broken and provide more
affordable and valuable housing in Detroit.”
Grandmont Rosedale Community Stabilization Program ($77,500): This
program aims to stabilize housing values, reduce vacancy and blight,
encourage affordable home ownership, and attract new businesses to their
neighborhood in Detroit. The program acquires, renovates and sells
vacant and foreclosed homes to new homeowners and markets the community
to new residents to bolster housing demand. With an emphasis on
foreclosure prevention and blight elimination, they work to retain
current residents and reduce overall vacancy. Specifically, they have
coordinated an active task force of local residents to mobilize
thousands of volunteer hours each year to clean and maintain vacant
properties. By supporting small business development, they also work to
revitalize the Grand River corridor.
“We are very grateful for the support we have received from JPMorgan
Chase for our neighborhood stabilization program. Vacancy rates are
falling, housing values are rising again and new families are moving in
to our community every day,” said Tom Godderis, Executive Director,
Grandmont Rosedale. “Funding from JPMorgan Chase has played a key
role in catalyzing these positive trends.”
Eastside Community Network ($75,000): Eastside Community Network
aims to improve the Mack Avenue Corridor, between Conner and Cadieux, to
stabilize existing businesses, improve aesthetics, remove blight,
maintain open space, improve green uses, attract new businesses,
activate vacant spaces in low market areas, and increase utilization.
Partnering with local government, residents, business, and technical
stakeholders, they focus on street scape design, green development,
branding, commercial marketing and business recruitment.
“Mack Avenue is one of the most traveled and iconic thoroughfares on
Detroit’s Eastside, linking businesses to a number of historic
neighborhoods and connecting Detroit to three Grosse Pointe
communities,” said Donna Givens, President and CEO, Eastside
Community Network. “JPMorgan Chase’s seed funding to Eastside
Community Network’s Mack Avenue Development Strategy, coupled
with separate JPMorgan Chase grants to our partners at Tech Town and
Michigan Community Resources, will spur the creation of a Corridor
Improvement Authority Tax Increment Finance District, increase viability
of existing businesses, new business development, and additional
investments from public and private partners.”
Michigan Community Resources (MCR) ($75,000): MCR provides
targeted neighborhood capacity building services to CBOs in Cody Rouge,
North End, and the Lower Eastside that perform economic development
activities, expanding upon the work completed by the JPMorgan Chase
Service Corps team in 2014. MCR develops neighborhood commercial
marketing materials, provides technical assistance for site specific
marketing, creates customized investment strategies that can be used to
target development-ready parcels and key neighborhood assets, and
provides legal assistance.
“We believe that the best way to support neighborhood economic
development is through a systems approach. This support will help us
empower organizations to participate in broader economic development
strategies that are currently targeting these neighborhoods,” said Jill
Ferrari, CEO, Michigan Community Resources. “We are very grateful to
JP Morgan Chase for recognizing the valuable role that community based
organizations can play in economic development.”
Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD) ($50,000): CDAD
is a membership organization of community development and neighborhood
improvement groups and assists its members through community planning,
engagement and other support. They also work to increase awareness of
public policy issues that support inclusive development, such as
community benefits, affordable housing and land acquisition.
“Community Development Advocates of Detroit is extremely appreciative
of JPMorgan Chase’s support of community development in Detroit,”
said Sarida Scott, Executive Director, Community Development
Advocates of Detroit. “In this period of investment and
development, Detroit’s neighborhoods must also be included. This
grant will enable us to continue supporting the great work happening by
organizations throughout the city.”
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services
firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is
a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and
small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing,
and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,
JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States
and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and
government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information
about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
Contacts
Media:
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Stephanie Bosh, 202-585-1382
