February 26, 2009

NRSA Program

NRSA stands for Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area and is a great program. The NRSA is combination of a CDBO (Community Development Business Organization) and an accompanying business grant reinvesting monies into said neighborhood, after they both TOGETHER review applications award monies to those projects that they feel will improve the neighborhood.

Over the past 3 years, we have had 5 NRSA's in the City of Worcester:
  1. Chandler Street/Common Ground
  2. Grafton Street/East Side CDC
  3. Beacon Neighborhood/Main South CDC
  4. South Worcester/South Worcester Neighborhood Center
  5. Lower Lincoln Street/Oak Hill CDC

Three years ago these 5 areas competed for what was suppose to be 2 NRSA designations. In the end, it was decided to split the monies amongst the 5. At this point I hope the City of Worcester takes a step back and reviews:

  1. the results of each NRSA
  2. did they meet the goals as laid out in the initial application
  3. were there true partnerships between the CDBO and the accompanying business group

In the end the NRSA's that are working should be rewarded, while the others that are failing miserably should be ended.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are all miserable failures.

$250 to $300 a sq foot to build low income housing is absurd and that doesnt even factor all the freebies the city gives to these CDC's

Nothing is more expensive to build and and for the city to service than low income housing.

Worcester is hooked on the crack cocaine of low income housing. Speaking of lower lincoln St....it's time the city de-tox'ed off of low income housing over at Adcare Hospital on Lower Lincoln

Bill Randell said...

Jahn:

The NRSA program is not building low income housing. It is actually a great program that actually invests in the neighborhood in various items like:

Storefront Improvements
House Repairs
Neighborhood Beautification
Work force development

I have done alot of work on the Chandler NRSA and we have a press release coming out soon detailing all of our accomplishments. This is a great program.

You are right baout the low income housing developments, however, but the NRSA is not that.

Bill

Anonymous said...

YA, ok I was too quick on the draw there.

But I'll be a politcian and say my facts as stated are correct, I just applied them to the wrong grant program. i.e. ....They dont apply to NRSA but instead to low income housing constr......whatever the acroynm for that is.......WGC...MSCDC ...OHCDC..... M25...WCHR......ESCDC...i know there are a few more

Bill Randell said...

Believe me I know tracking the initials are difficult.

Again your facts were correct but they do not apply to the NRSA.

The NRSA is a great program.

Anonymous said...

bill i believe one Nsra project that I know of is Suneys pub new facade............problem is though as nice as it looks and I do like that styling.............it stands like a rose amongst thorns....... meaning the other store fronts just have inconsistent/mor traditional appearances......nothing wrong with them mind you..it sjusthow they dev'ed over time. .........each has/had their own tastes styling when they opend up shop there years ago