By Amy Bigley
RIALTO, CALIF. — The City of Rialto Housing Authority and National Community Renaissance, known as National CORE, have transformed a troubled neighborhood in Rialto into Citrus Grove, a 152-unit affordable housing community.
“The area was severely blighted and was infested with gangs, drugs and violence, and the properties were not being maintained by the absentee property owners,” says Greg Lantz, economic development manager of the city of Rialto. “The area was unsafe, and the only way to rid the community of the cancer was to take decisive and effective action.”
Originally developed in the 1960s as low-cost condominiums for first-time buyers, neglect and absentee landlords caused the area to become less desirable. The city used a combination of acquisition negotiations and eminent domain to purchase the condominiums for the redevelopment project. The city and National CORE raised $37 million to fund the project through numerous sources, including $14 million in Redevelopment Agency housing set-aside funds, tax-exempt bonds, tax credits, HCD Multi-Family Housing Program funds, San Bernardino County HOME funds and other public sources.
“The timing of this redevelopment project was inspired primarily by the city’s redevelopment agency’s desire to turn what had become a troubled neighborhood into a safe and affordable community for many of its lower income families,” explains Welton Smith, senior vice of development with National CORE.
The finished project is Citrus Grove, a gate-community centered around a 6,000-square-foot Community Learning Center. The community offers two- and three-bedroom units featuring new appliances, roofing, carpets, windows, doors, bathroom fixtures, plumbing, electrical systems, drywall, exterior stucco and landscaping. To further enhance the community, Hope Through Housing, a foundation created by National CORE, will provide a variety of social services for the community, including a county Head Start program, after school tutoring, a daycare, youth mentoring, computer education, adult education and health screening.
The success of the private/public partnership is not only visible in tangible development, since National CORE took over the area in 2005, violent crime in the neighborhood has fallen by nearly 79 percent and crime overall has fallen by almost 68 percent.