1. City of Charleston News
  2. MAYOR GOODWIN ANNOUNCES 2019-20 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK FUND BUDGET & ACTION PLAN

MAYOR GOODWIN ANNOUNCES 2019-20 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK FUND BUDGET & ACTION PLAN

Monday, May 20, 2019 - 20:06

Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin announced tonight that Charleston City Council approved the 2019-20 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) budget and action plan. The City of Charleston will receive $1,501,775 in CDBG funds and $624,726 in Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds for the 2019-20 program year. The funds will be used to fund several projects throughout the city.

To qualify for CDBG funds, activities must meet at least one of the national CDBG program objectives:

  • Benefit low and moderate-income people
  • Eliminate slum or blight
  • Address urgent needs posing a serious and immediate threat to the health and welfare of the community

The largest portion of the 2019-20 funds – nearly $1 million -- will be dedicated to housing rehabilitation or home-ownership programs for low-to-moderate income families/individuals and to assist with the needs of the homeless.  

The city also will use its CDBG funds to focus on a number of key improvement projects:

  • ADA Curb Ramps - These funds will provide for the repair and/or replacement of ADA accessible curb ramps in low-income areas of Charleston. [$120,000.00]
  • Demolition - These funds will provide asbestos abatement and demolition of substandard structures throughout Charleston to eliminate health and safety hazards. [$200,000.00]
  • Parks & Recreation –
    • Replacement of flooring and repair/replacement of A/C units at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. [$67,145.00]
    • Repair/replacement of A/C units at the North Charleston Community Center. [$42,000.00]
    • Update of the women’s restroom in the gym at the Roosevelt Neighborhood Center. [$2,500.00]
  • Slack Plaza Park – Funds will be used as part of site preparation and construction of a city park at Slack Plaza in downtown Charleston. [$150,000.00]

Other projects receiving CDBG funding support include:

  • Charleston-Kanawha Housing Authority - These funds will provide walkways, benches, a protective fall area and accessible play equipment in the Littlepage Community Playpark. [$24,942.00]
  • Roark Sullivan Lifeway Center Giltinan Center - Renovations at the RSLC Giltinan Center. [$10,000.00]
  • YWCA Mel Wolf Child Development Center - Renovations to the YWCA Child Development Center daycare facility. [$10,000.00]
  • YWCA Sojourner’s Shelter - Renovations to the YWCA Sojourner’s Shelter. [$10,000.00]
  • Bob Burdette Center - Funding for afterschool programs with locations at 1401 Washington Street West, 1009 Woodward Drive, 100 Florida Street and 550 Hawks Ridge Road. [$10,000.00]
  • Covenant House, LLC - Funding will assist with Centralized Assessment services. [$8,500.00]
  • Daymark - Funding for Patchwork, a crisis intervention center and shelter for youth, located at 1583 Lee Street. [$20,000.00]
  • Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home - A halfway house for men recovering from substance abuse. Funds will assist with expenses at the facilities located at 1121 Virginia Street and 1327 Quarrier Street. [$15,000.00]
  • Keep Your Faith Foundation - Raised garden bed kits and supplies for West Side Grown Project located at 305 Delaware Avenue. [$2,050.00]
  • City of Charleston Planning Department Mapping - These funds will be used by the City of Charleston for expanded housing & blight analysis mapping of distressed neighborhoods in the city. [$11,700.00]
  • Pro-Kids, Inc. - Funding for this afterschool program, located at 209 Morris Street, will assist with direct service providers. [$18,000.00]
  • REA of Hope Fellowship Home - Halfway house for recovering alcoholic women. This funding will assist with utility expenses. [$7,500.00]
  • RCCR - Smith Street Station – Utility funding assistance for this 29-unit low-income apartment building located at 801 Smith Street. [$24,000.00]
  • Roark Sullivan Lifeway Center - Funding to assist with the Health Care Outreach Program based at 505 Leon Sullivan Way. [$16,000.00]
  • West Virginia Health Right - Facility that offers health care and medications to the homeless and needy citizens of Charleston and surrounding areas. Funding for this facility will assist with the purchase of medications, medical supplies/dental supplies & consumables. [$48,000.00]
  • West Virginia State University - Pilot program that will offer afterschool coding programming workshops for K-5 youth at Mary C. Snow Elementary. Funds will assist with instructional costs and the purchase of laptops/software. [$20,000.00]
  • WV Women Work - This program, Step Up for Women, offers a skilled trade training class for women. [$6,300.00]
  • YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program - Funding will assist with utility expenses for the shelter. [$5,000.00]
  • YWCA Sojourner’s Shelter - Emergency shelter for homeless women and families. Funding will help provide a Substance Abuse Counselor. [$10,000.00]

The city’s final 2019 Annual Action Plan must be submitted to HUD before June 11, 2019.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The primary objective is the development and support of viable urban communities. HUD believes viable communities are achieved by providing, principally, for low- and moderate-income people decent housing, a suitable living environment and expanded economic opportunities.

City Logo