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North Little Rock Mayor Patrick
Henry Hays Hosts CitiesFirst® Roundtable By Dana Bykowski Mayor Patrick Henry Hays and the City of North Little Rock (AR) hosted the first roundtable for the new Conference of Mayors partnership program, CitiesFirst® October 17. Scott Syphax, President & CEO of Nehemiah Corporation of California and Chairman of CitiesFirst® joined Mayor Hays in hosting this successful event. Other participants of the roundtable included: representatives from North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, North Little Rock Economic Development, North Little Rock Community Development, Sherman Park Community Development Agency, ARGENTA Community Development Corporation, Fannie Mae, Metropolitan Bank of Little Rock, North Little Rock Housing Authority, and Real Estate Central (a local real estate development corporation). "We welcome the partnership between the Conference of Mayors and Nehemiah Corporation of California and we welcome the opportunity to work with the CitiesFirst® program," said Hays. The purpose of this roundtable was not only to discuss housing and community development challenges facing the city of North Little Rock but also discuss the current state of the housing market post September 11 and what impact that has had on cities such as North Little Rock. Mark Vanderlinden of Fannie Mae reported that the national housing market is indeed strong. He commented that after September 11, there was a minor but not a serious decline in home sales. "Mortgage activity is high, and interest rates are down. It is a good time to buy a house," said Vanderlinden who is the Director of Community Development & Housing for the Southwestern Region of Fannie Mae. North Little Rock is expending considerable effort to revitalize its historic downtown. Main Street ARGENTA, working under the umbrella of the national Main Street programs, numerous community development corporations and a number of volunteers are providing both manpower and financial backing to restore this area of the city. Downtown houses are purchased, rehabilitated and resold to families interested in this area. Economic restructuring is also underway. Seven financial institutions have formed a low interest loan pool of $3 million for the purchase of business real estate within the designated district. The two main community development corporations, Sherman Park and ARGENTA, have a productive and strong working relationship with the city and work very closely with Mayor Hays. One idea that came out of the roundtable was for the community development agencies to work more closely with local real estate corporations. Creating an enhanced channel of communication and interchange between the real estate community and community development agencies would allow for the creation of a working relationship that turns renters into owners with proper credit counseling, and increases homeownership options for those clients that turn to the community development agencies. Working more closely with the real estate agencies that have used Nehemiah in the past will also enhance down payment assistance opportunities for homebuyers. Warren Rogers, President of Real Estate Central, commented on the success of working with Nehemiah in the past. "Nehemiah has helped to overcome our greatest obstacle, which is down payment assistance for our customers," he said. Under the direction of the Conference of Mayors, the purpose of CitiesFirst® roundtables will be to utilize mayors and community leaders to generate a working relationship between individual cities and CitiesFirst® by bringing together community development agencies, city officials, members of the lending and financial services community, real estate to discuss and implement strategies that will strengthen local housing assistance and community development programs. This is an opportunity for mayors, local officials and government agency partners to work with CitiesFirst® to provide successful affordable housing programs and provide mayors with access to funding and technical assistance to help shape federal policy and promote sustained growth and stability. "We are here to enhance the opportunities of homeownership for the residents of North Little Rock," said Syphax. "We are looking forward to working with several cities across the country. Our goal is to create desirable urban living options and significant homeownership opportunities." |
