Rutgers, First Union Regional Foundation launch Camden initiative
February 20, 2003
CONTACT: Mike Sepanic, Rutgers-Camden public information office, (856) 225-6026, msepanic@camden.rutgers.edu -or- Frances Durst, First Union Regional Foundation, (908) 598-3062, frances.durst@wachovia.com.
CAMDEN – A significant new resource designed to help revitalize the neighborhood of Fairview, one of New Jersey’s most historic communities, was unveiled during a special ceremony in Camden on Thursday, Feb. 20.
The Rutgers Fairview Neighborhood Partnership opened the doors of its permanent storefront location on Yorkship Square in the Fairview section of Camden. Funded by a three-year, $450,000 grant from the First Union Regional Foundation, the Rutgers Fairview Neighborhood Partnership will provide a one-stop center for community development, economic, and legal assistance in promoting the growth of Camden’s historic Fairview neighborhood. The center will be staffed throughout the week with three professional community development specialists who will work with new and potential business owners, individual citizens, and a wide array of Fairview civic, educational, faith-based, and community organizations.
According to Denise Armbrister, executive director of the First Union Regional Foundation, this project is clearly consistent with her organization’s mission and goals. “This is both a comprehensive and grass-roots approach to neighborhood revitalization,” she says, “and we especially appreciate the collaborative aspect of this initiative. We’re pleased to support this neighborhood-based community development project.”
The RFNP seeks to revitalize the economically distressed Fairview community in a cohesive and self-sustained manner. The project, a collaboration among Rutgers-Camden, the First Union Regional Foundation, and the Fairview Historical Society, will seek to help start at least 10 new Camden-based businesses; fortify the Fairview Historic Society as a self-sufficient civic association; establish additional community organizations; and found a Community Development Corporation.
Moreover, the RFNP will assist in the development of a community policing program in conjunction with the Camden Police Department, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, and the New Jersey State Police, while also helping the residents to craft a school-based development plan that, under the state’s Abbott guidelines, will increase educational opportunities for Fairview’s children and adults. Legal assistance in support of community development will be provided.
The project will draw upon Rutgers-Camden’s strengths in public policy, business and law through the campus’ Sen. Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs; the William G. Rohrer Center for Management and Entrepreneurship; and the Rutgers University School of Law at Camden.
“Fairview is a remarkable and resilient community,” notes Dr. Richard Harris, director of the Rand Institute at Rutgers-Camden. “The rejuvenation of Fairview will benefit the city and adjoining towns as much as it does the residents of that neighborhood. Urban revitalization is a major factor in the statewide initiative to curb sprawl, and in this regard we believe that Fairview can be a model for other parts of New Jersey.”
The professional staff of the Rutgers Fairview Neighborhood Project include Stacey Pierce, a community development specialist who previously served as the urban coordinating council community director at the North Camden City African American Advisory Commission.
Roger Ashodian will provide legal guidance for RFNP projects. He previously provided legal services for community-based non-profit organizations in the Lehigh Valley and at Delaware County Legal Assistance in Chester (PA). In 1996, Ashodian served as a Fulbright Scholar in Armenia.
Luke Griffith serves as office manager. He previously was affiliated with the Camden organizations Brightstar CDC and Neighborhood Housing Services. A business development specialist soon will be added to the professional staff.
Constructed in 1919 as one of America’s very first garden communities, the Fairview neighborhood was designed to meet the demand for housing for workers at the nearby New York Shipbuilding Corporation that resulted from World War I. The community, which served as a national model, consists of 225 acres and 1,000 brick buildings containing multi-family residences.
Today, approximately 10 percent of Fairview’s 2,400 homes are unused. Yorkship Square, the commercial heart of the neighborhood, has many vacancies among its storefronts. For several years, the Fairview Historical Society has worked to reverse this trend, and brings its considerable experience and community contacts to this new venture.
“As New Jersey's leading public research university, Rutgers is pleased to support such an innovative example of urban revitalization,” says Rutgers-Camden Provost Roger Dennis. “It is our role to apply our multi-faceted expertise on behalf of our fellow New Jerseyans. We hope this project will serve as a statewide and national model of how privately held business, in concert with public universities and civic organizations, can have a true and positive impact on a community.”
The Rutgers Fairview Neighborhood Project is located at 1206 Yorkship Square in Camden, where it is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
About First Union Regional Foundation The First Union Regional Foundation was established in 1998, and funded with $100 million from First Union Corporation. Total annual donations from the fund equal five 5% of the trust’s annual value, and to date nearly $6 million has been granted to New Jersey projects addressing comprehensive community development needs.
About Wachovia Corporation Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB), created through the Sept. 1, 2001, merger of First Union Corp. and Wachovia Corp., had assets of $342 billion and stockholders’ equity of $32 billion at Dec. 31, 2002. Wachovia is a leading provider of financial services to retail, brokerage and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices in 11 East Coast states and Washington, DC, and offers full-service brokerage with offices in 49 of the 50 states. Global services are provided through more than 30 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services are available through wachovia.com.
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