Page 46 – Safeguard Properties

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

North Carolina Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight (DR-4837-NC)

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – North Carolina Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight

Posted on October 21, 2024December 5, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
October 19, 2024

***LAST UPDATE: 12/5/24***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of North Carolina to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in areas affected by Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight from September 16-20, 2024. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Public Assistance:

Brunswick
Carteret
Dare
New Hanover
Onslow
Stokes

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for North Carolina

Map of Affected Area

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

South Carolina Tropical Storm Debby (DR-4835-SC)

St. Louis Hosts Conference on Vacant Properties, Showcases Local Efforts to Stabilize Buildings

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Ashley Shepherd

One Community Update
October 9, 2024

Source: www.firstalert4.com

A national conference on vacant properties is converging in St. Louis this week, highlighting successful programs locally and in other U.S. cities.

The semi-annual conference, called “Reclaiming Vacant Properties,” is run by the Center for Community Progress, which works with organizations nationwide to address abandoned and deteriorated properties.

Thamarrah Jones, the organization’s director of conferences, said CCP chose St. Louis partly to highlight recent collaborative efforts between City departments and agencies, as well as local organizations that have worked to redevelop, stabilize, or demolish problem properties.

“With all of the challenges that have happened as it relates to vacancy in the city and county, we’ve wanted to partner with St. Louis for a long time,” Jones said.

One organization highlighting its work at the conference is the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative, which has increasingly developed tools for tracking and mapping vacant properties in the city.

Torrey Park, the director of the Vacancy Collaborative, said such tools have helped to tie problem properties to negligent owners, some of whom own dozens of vacant properties in the area with a mounting pile of code violations and fines.

She said the success of the collaborative could be a useful example to other cities dealing with a high number of vacancies and lack of investment.

“They can learn a lot about how we’re being strategic to address the properties that need it most, Park said.

The conference itinerary also includes visits to successful redevelopment projects in the St. Louis area, such as the Delmar Divine.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Atlanta City Council Approves $1.4M to Redevelop Foreclosed Properties with Affordable Housing

Posted on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
October 11, 2024

Source: www.roughdraftatlanta.com

The Atlanta City Council voted this week to pay the Metro Atlanta Land Bank (MALB) $1.4 million to prepare foreclosed properties for redevelopment with an emphasis on preserving and constructing affordable housing.

The council approved the ordinance at its Oct. 7 meeting. The initiative is part of a broader effort to support Mayor Andre Dickens’ goal of creating or preserving 20,000 units of affordable housing by 2030.

The land bank was created for the purpose of “facilitating the return of dilapidated, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties to productive use,” according to the legislation.

Land banks also have the power to hold and dispose of real property and collaborate with municipalities and other public and private entities for the development of real property.

“The [Metro Atlanta] land bank is an organization that helps take blighted properties that are eyesores in our communities, that may pose safety issues for our neighbors … and clears the title and cleans them up and then gets those pieces of properties ready to rejoin the community,” said Councilmember Matt Westmoreland.

The city will pay MALB the $1.4 million from the new $8.5 million Gulch Housing Trust Fund approved by the council at the Oct. 7 meeting.

The Gulch Housing Trust Fund is a result of the agreement the city made with CIM Group years ago to transform the undeveloped Gulch into a 50-acre mixed-use development and entertainment district.

In exchange for CIM Group promising to fund and meet affordable housing goals as part of the estimated $5 billion project, the city pledged about $1.9 billion in public tax incentives.

For full report, please click the source link above.

JPMorganChase Funds Cohort Addressing Affordable Homeownership in Baltimore

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
October 9, 2024

Source: The Daily Record

JPMorganChase Wednesday announced that nine nonprofits will receive funding as part of a new cohort of leaders working to address housing vacancy across Baltimore.

The cohort aims to stabilize housing supply and create more affordable homeownership opportunities for Baltimore’s legacy residents by increasing organizational capacity, strengthening local partnerships and expanding acquisition and rehabilitation of vacant and abandoned homes.

JPMorganChase is working with the Urban Institute and the Center for Community Progress to support the cohort through peer exchange, capacity building and learning opportunities rooted in the city’s unique context.

By facilitating peer learning and sharing insights with the broader housing industry, the cohort builds on the firm’s strategy to support impact through insights, including convening the strength and expertise of housing organizations across the city.

The Baltimore Housing Innovation Cohort will work to reduce housing vacancy, grow organizational capacity and shift systems to enable housing revitalization at scale. The cohort will leverage the existing strengths and expertise of housing leaders across the city, allowing partners to learn and grow together in a shared commitment to advancing housing solutions. This strategy is guided by the firm’s localized approach to creating impact by supporting and convening local leaders who know their community best.

Participants in the Baltimore Housing Innovation Cohort include:

Black Women Build – Baltimore Inc. will rehabilitate vacant and deteriorated rowhomes in the Upton, Druid Heights, Penn North and Poppleton neighborhoods of Baltimore and provide skilled trades training, community- and wealth building opportunities. Participants in this program are then able to purchase the homes they help to build, increasing access to affordable, sustainable homeownership in Baltimore.
City Life-Community Builders Ltd. will rehabilitate homes, advance personal and professional skills development and build coalitions of committed stakeholders working to shift Baltimore’s systems to address housing vacancy at scale.
Druid Heights Community Development Corporation will implement the Bakers View Homeownership Development Project, a multiphase effort to produce affordable homeownership in one of Baltimore’s oldest communities. The Bakers View Homeownership Development Project is designed to further reduce density and crime, increase visit-ability, and make Druid Heights a sought-after community.
Greater Baybrook Alliance Inc. will build organizational capacity and systems – including the ability to leverage Baltimore’s property acquisition programs – to advance whole block redevelopment in the Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, and Brooklyn Park neighborhoods of Baltimore.
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Inc. will advise cohort partners on healthy home interventions that can improve health, safety and energy efficiency outcomes, and will complete holistic housing interventions to help stabilize and preserve homeownership for seniors and family residents.
North East Housing Initiative Inc. will acquire, renovate and sell affordable homes in northeast Baltimore City to low-income households through a Community Land Trust model that maintains permanent affordability of the home and land.
National Community Stabilization Trust– Developing Affordable Starter Homes (DASH) Fund works to increase homeownership by expanding the supply of affordable, single-family homes to stabilize neighborhoods, build community wealth, and advance racial equity. NCST continues to increase access to low-cost capital through the DASH Fund, a loan product available to emerging Baltimore housing developers that can be used for acquisition and development costs associated with revitalizing distressed and vacant single-family homes.
ReBuild Metro Inc. will advance its block-by-block redevelopment of abandoned homes in East Baltimore, increase affordable and mixed-income homebuying opportunities, and expand its legacy homeowner repair program, all as part of a replicable and community-driven “whole block” redevelopment model that ensures both new and legacy residents benefit from neighborhood revitalization.
Southwest Partnership Inc. will continue building organizational capacity to implement a Housing Plan focused on reducing vacancy and providing affordable housing options in three Baltimore neighborhoods – Mount Clare, Hollins Roundhouse, and Franklin Square neighborhoods.

JPMorganChase has served the Greater Baltimore community for more than 130 years. The firm has supported the placement of more than 12,000 local residents into apprenticeships, full-time, or part-time positions and the participation of more than 5,800 individuals in job training programs aligned with high-demand industries.

Since 2019 the firm has committed $16.7 million in philanthropic capital to the region where it serves as the bank of choice for more than 35,000 small business clients and 569,000 consumer banking customers.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – South Carolina Tropical Storm Debby

Posted on October 17, 2024November 21, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
September 29, 2024

***Last Update: 11/21/24***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of South Carolina to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in areas affected by Tropical Storm Debby from August 4-22, 2024. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Public Assistance:

Bamberg
Barnwell
Beaufort
Berkeley
Colleton
Dillon
Dorchester
Florence
Georgetown
Hampton
Horry
Jasper
Orangeburg
Union

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for South Carolina

Map of Affected Area

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Alaska Flooding (DR-4836-AK)

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Alaska Flooding

Posted on October 17, 2024October 18, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
October 16, 2024

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Alaska to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in areas affected by flooding from August 5-6, 2024. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

Juneau

Public Assistance:

Juneau

Map of Affected Areas

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process