April 2008 - Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative to offer interest rate buydown programs for three Syracuse Neighborhoods. Additional Money Dedicated to Prospect Hill, Near Westside Initiative, and Tipperary Hill

(SYRACUSE, N.Y.)- Congressman Jim Walsh and Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll today announced the priorities for phase VIII of the Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative (SNI). $600,000 in federal funding secured by Walsh will be used to provide 1% interest rate buydown programs for Woodlawn, the Valley and Eastwood. An additional $650,000 secured by Walsh will be made available to support ongoing projects for Prospect Hill, the Near Westside Initiative, and Tipperary Hill.

“The interest rate buydown programs visibly demonstrate the impact SNI has on our city and have proven to be one of the best ways for SNI to help the most people,” said Walsh. “The 1% home improvement loans were so overwhelmingly popular in the University Hill area, and especially Eastwood, that I am thrilled we are extending them to additional city neighborhoods. “I am also happy that we're able to follow earlier SNI investments in St. Joseph's Prospect Hill project, the exciting Near Westside Initiative, and Tipp Hill with additional funds to help ensure that those visions become reality,” said Walsh. Replicating the such successes in previous phases of SNI, the money designated for Woodlawn, which on the city's upper North Side, the Valley, and Eastwood, will be used to buydown interest rates to 1% for home improvement loans of up to $10,000. Those loans can be used by owner-occupants for needed exterior repairs such as roofs and porch work. “A high priority in this round of SNI is to encourage additional private investment and the 1 percent buydown program has been successful at doing just that,” said Driscoll. “In addition, the funds secured by Congressman Walsh can help our housing partners take advantage of other initiatives including the $1 vacant home program.”

In addition to the loan programs, SNI Phase VIII funding will include: $250,000 to support homeownership activities in Prospect Hill that will complement the rental housing under development around St. Joseph's Hospital. $250,000 to support the Near Westside Initiative, which will leverage previous SNI investments of $5.72 million. These funds will be used to improve the Near Westside for acquisition, renovations, and limited demolitions to provide affordable opportunities for homeownership. $150,000 for vacant property rehabilitation in Tipperary Hill, which will help to ensure that all the gains made under SNI will not erode due to the negative effects such properties can have on a neighborhood. To date, Walsh has secured more than $50 million in federal funding for programming in Syracuse neighborhoods. That money has been supplemented by more than $8 million in local funds and in-kind services leveraged by a private-sector effort spearheaded by National Grid executive Marilyn Higgins, SNI chair. Recently, at the request of Congressman Walsh, the Community Benchmarks Program of Maxwell School of Syracuse University conducted an analysis of the impact of the first three phases of SNI, which totaled nearly $25 million in investments. The study was conducted by graduate student Drew Bland, Professor Bill Coplin, with additional assistance from Carol Dwyer, director of the Community Benchmarks Program, and Paul Driscoll of Home HeadQuarters.

The study looked at six neighborhoods: Cannon Newell, Lincoln Hill, South Salina, Westcott, Tipperary Hill, and the Near West Side. It also looked ahead to the progress taking place in the Park Ave. neighborhood. Some of the highlights include:

  • 1,226 homeownership units rehabbed or built by SNI programs.
  • 633 new full-time jobs added annually in construction and related industries equivalent to the short-term local income generated by SNI programs.
  • 161 new households added to the local area by SNI programs.
  • Average number of days on market for residential properties declined or remained unchanged in every neighborhood
  • New households added by SNI programs expected to generate $61,512,083 of local income to businesses, employees, and local government in the City of Syracuse from 2000 through 2016.
  • New households added by SNI programs expected to generate $13,806,119 in tax revenue for local governments from 2000 through 2016.
  • Tax delinquencies decreased in every neighborhood.

“Not only am I very pleased with the quantitative findings of this study, but I'm thrilled that it found a high level of organization among the neighborhood associations that formed out of SNI,” said Walsh. “In addition to the physical improvements, that may be the most lasting legacy of SNI -- the groups of people who will continue to be empowered and advocate on behalf of these neighborhoods.”

Copies of the study will be made available on www.syracusesni.org.

1% Interest Rates to be Available for Home Improvements Loans in Woodlawn, the Valley, and Eastwood