TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Telly C. Whitfield, Ph.D., Assistant City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cauley, MPA, Acting Economic and Community Development Director
DATE: January 25, 2021
RE:
Title
Amendment to 20-21 HUD Action Plan to Fund Renovations of the Historic
Orange Street School end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
District 2
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal III: High Quality Built Environment,
Goal IV: Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate,
Goal VI: Citizen Engagement and Partnership
Executive Summary:
Council is asked to reallocate $100,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the current year action plan from the Small Business Development Grant (SBDG) Program to a new public facility project, the
Orange Street School (OSS).
Background:
In August, the Economic and Community Development Department (ECD) was approached about the OSS and their plans to reinvigorate the
school as an African American History Museum. It has been functioning as such for decades but the not for profit board is resource limited and the building has fallen into disrepair. ECD spoke to OSS about the eligibility of CDBG funds and the application timeline for awarding grants. ECD also spoke about future partnerships to create some synergy between OSS and the community.
Issues/Analysis:
In October, Kingdom Community Development Corporation (Kingdom CDC) prepared estimates for the rehabilitation of the building and OSS requested funding for rehab and operations from the City through the Mayor. The total request was $143,249 ($100,000 repairs and $43,249 operating) and the funding source was not proposed by the request. The rehabilitation of a historic building is eligible under CDBG while the operations are not an eligible expense. In November, City building maintenance staff evaluated the building and created its own estimates to ensure nothing was missed. They estimated slightly less than the $100,000 est...
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