Case Study - Consulting Services

CLIENT – A south Florida city with a population of over 90,000 residents; this entitlement jurisdiction currently receives CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and NSP funds.

CHALLENGE – The city identified a distressed neighborhood consisting of a majority of low- to-moderate income residents that desperately needed redevelopment. At one time, this area of the city was a hybrid neighborhood for African-American leaders, professionals, and educators, and included its own schools, businesses, churches, and social activities. The area was no longer the vibrant, cultural center for social life in the city.

Despite the development of a neighborhood improvement plan that utilized NSP funds to acquire and demolish dilapidated properties in the community, and due to the recent economic downturn and budget cuts, the city did not have the resources to develop a more thorough, workable solution for more meaningful revitalization. There were other funds that could be allotted specifically for the neighborhood’s improvements that would come from the city’s CDBG and HOME programs, but those additional dollars could not be committed without HUD’s approval of a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) plan.

SOLUTION – The city hired WFN Consulting to prepare a comprehensive NRSA plan that was compliant with all of HUD’s standards and regulations. The plan allowed for the necessary community improvements to begin in the dilapidated neighborhood.

RESULT – WFN Consulting’s extensive expertise in grant managing and planning provided the city with a successful, HUD-approved NRSA plan and $500,000 in CDBG and HOME funds to rehabilitate homes in the area. The investment began the process of restoring the neighborhood to its place of previous prominence as a thriving center of commerce and culture.

Today, the neighborhood’s residents are the beneficiaries of sustainable and meaningful improvements that would not have been possible without HUD’s approval of WFN Consulting’s NRSA plan.