On Tuesday, February 20, the Richmond City Council will consider a $500,000 investment in the Nystrom United Revitalization Effort (NURVE) that will provide the final match for $3.5 million already committed by the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) for the rehabilitation of the Maritime Child Care Center. A total of $32.2 million of funding is already committed to improve Nystrom School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Community Center and the Maritime Child Care Center, which together form the heart of the Nystrom Neighborhood, a location where the Coronado, Santa Fe and Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council areas converge. Scroll on down the page to find out more about NURVE and the Maritime Center. Maritime will also help fill a critical shortage of preschool classrooms in inner city Richmond as well as expanding the presence of uniformed National Park Service staff into the Nystrom neighborhood.

 

Investing in the Nystrom neighborhood is not a new City policy. The Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency Strategic Plan includes “Continue to work with the Nystrom Urban Revitalization Effort (NURVE) on neighborhood urban planning issues and focus CEDA efforts on the redevelopment of Nystrom Village, which is owned by the Richmond Housing Authority.” In 206, the City Council passed Resolution 68-06 committing support for NURVE and the Maritime Center.

 

This is the last chance to save $3.5 million in funding for rebuilding Richmond’s Nystrom neighborhood and the historic Maritime Center before it is reprogrammed for a city other than Richmond. To urge your City Council members to support Maritime Center funding, click on “reply to all” and send them a message to invest $500,000 in NURVE and the Maritime Center.

 

To find out more about the Maritime Center, click here to See the presentation that won the $2 million grant from the CA Culture & Historical Endowment (Acrobat .PDF - 850KB) and here to
See a detailed description of the Maritime Child Development Center (Acrobat .PDF - 134 KB).

 

Following are articles from today’s West County Times (“Rosie site could get $500,000 boost”) and February 16 West County Times (“State short of space in preschool”) as well as additional information about Maritime and Nystrom follows:

 

Posted on Mon, Feb. 19, 2007
Rosie site could get $500,000 boost
RICHMOND: City Council considering plan to add extra funding to restore Maritime Child Development Center
By John Geluardi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

In a sudden turn of events, Richmond may be able to contribute $500,000 to a multiagency effort to save the historic Maritime Child Development Center.

Some City Council members have been wrestling with a proposal to add the funding to a pot of $3.5 million that two agencies have committed to restore the 64-year-old center for use as a charter school and a Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Park museum.

Councilmen Jim Rogers and Tom Butt proposed appropriating the money from the Redevelopment Agency's 2007-08 budget of $67 million. But several council members balked at the suggestion because the majority of those funds has been dedicated to other projects.

But late last week, the $500,000 was found in the revolving loan program, which was established in 2003 with $750,000 to help infirm seniors maintain their residential properties. Since the program became available, only one person's application has been approved.

"The revolving loan program became weighted down in court process," said Councilwoman Maria Viramontes, who co-sponsored the program three years ago. "So we can borrow the money for the Maritime Center from that fund and figure out how to return it next year."

If the council approves the plan at its meeting Tuesday, Richmond will add $500,000 to the renovation fund, which includes $1.5 million from the West Contra Costa Unified School District and $2 million from the California Cultural and Historic Endowment.

Once the center is renovated, it will provide classroom space for the Richmond Child Development charter school, which is currently housed in four portables next to the center. It also will be used as a museum to showcase what was one of the first publicly funded day care centers in the United States.

The Maritime Child Development Center is part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Park, which is broken up into nine sites. The center is owned by Contra Costa County, which has leased the property to the National Park Service for $1 a year.

The Maritime Center is part of a cluster of historic buildings constructed to support the Kaiser ship building efforts during World War II. The buildings include the Kaiser Field Hospital, Fire Station No. 67A, Nystrom School and Nystrom Village, which consists of four blocks of war-time, single-family homes.

"The Nystrom School is going through a $33 million renovation, and Martin Luther King Park is going through a $2.5 million upgrade," said Butt, who is contributing the services of his architectural firm to the center's renovation. "It only makes sense to fix up the center, otherwise you're going to have one falling-down building on the corner."

The center was specifically designed to support the thousands of women who worked in the Kaiser Shipyards as welders, machinists, mechanics, draftswomen, pipe fitters and boilermakers during World War II.

It was a state-of-the-art facility that used the latest theories in child development so that Rosies could have peace of mind while they worked long hours in the shipyards. The center's staff included nutritionists, psychiatrists and certified teachers.

"This was no baby-sitting service," said Lucy Lawliss, a National Parks cultural resource manager. "The Maritime Center was to be a demonstration of all that could be done with child care."

The building has a spare, modernist design and could accommodate as many as 180 preschoolers, making it the largest child care facility in the nation, according to a historical review of the site. The center's main building is like a time capsule, with bed cubicles and war era toys still in place.

Contact John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or at jgeluardi@cctimes.com

 

 

A list of cities and shortfalls that accompanied the following article showed Richmond eight classrooms short in serving its preschool demand.

 

Posted on Fri, Feb. 16, 2007
State short of space in preschool
Minority, rural children most likely to get short shrift on education, recent report determines
By Kimberly S. Wetzel
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

One in five California 4-year-olds may not get the chance to attend preschool because of a lack of classroom space, according to a report released Thursday by a national nonprofit organization.

The problem is particularly acute in urban and rural areas where there are large numbers of working-class families and less money for facilities, according to the study by the Advancement Project Los Angeles, a public policy and civil rights advocacy organization. Children from low-income families, who are black or Latino or whose parents either didn't graduate from high school or do not speak English also are affected disproportionately.

"We have a preschool system that is in danger of skipping a whole lot of children," Molly Munger, Advancement Project Los Angeles co-director, said in a teleconference Thursday. "It's extremely uneven. While many parts of the state can serve 100 percent of their preschool children tomorrow, we have other areas of our state where we can only serve 25 to 35 percent of our 4-year-olds."

The study evaluated all public and private spaces available in each county at existing elementary schools and licensed child care facilities. The results are based on two separate scenarios. In the first, researchers assumed that lawmakers will make preschool available to all 4-year-olds; in the second, they assumed that children in lower-performing school districts will get the most preschool help.

The results were the same in each case, Munger said.

The Bay Area, with the exception of Hayward Unified School District in Alameda County, fared relatively well in the report, with San Mateo and Marin counties each having lower shortage rates and in some cases a surplus of space. Contra Costa County overall averaged between an 8 and 16 percent shortage, but the rate varied dramatically in individual school districts.

For example, Mt. Diablo, Lafayette and Martinez school districts have surpluses, whereas West Contra Costa, Antioch and San Ramon have shortfalls.

"Contra Costa County looks like so many counties," Munger said. "It has Mt. Diablo, that looks to have quite an extreme surplus, right next to San Ramon, that has an extreme shortfall. It's patchy just like most of our counties are."

The Bay Area is in decent shape because many cities and districts have worked collaboratively to improve facilities and access to preschool in recent years, said Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, an Oakland-based child advocacy organization.

"It should be pointed out that the biggest strides in preschool facilities have been made in the Bay Area," Lempert said. "There's been efforts in key individual counties such as local First Five commissions."

Riverside County in Southern California, which has experienced tremendous population growth over the past few years, was ranked No. 1 on the list of counties with the most severe preschool space shortfall. Other counties that lack access for 25 percent or more of their 4-year-olds include Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno and Merced counties.

State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, who participated in the teleconference, said he plans to introduce legislation directing some of the bond money recently approved by voters into preschool facilities.

He also said that the state plans to float another bond in 2008, and he hopes some of that money can be allocated for preschool space.

"I'm prepared to play a leadership role on this issue and make sure we respond appropriately," Nunez said. "We're going to take some concrete action and do what we need to do to make sure those funds are available for preschool."

Reach Kimberly S. Wetzel at 510-262-2798 or kwetzel@cctimes.com.

 

The NURVE Neighborhood Plan

 

The NURVE Neighborhood Plan was prepared by Bay Area Economics (BAE), Community Housing Development Corp. of N. Richmond (CHDC), Hatchuel Tabernik & Associates (HTA) and Michael Willis Architects (MWA) as a collaborative effort of Richmond Children’s Foundation and the East Bay Community Foundation.

 

The community around Richmond’s Nystrom Elementary School and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park includes the Santa Fe and Coronado neighborhoods and borders on the Iron Triangle neighborhood. This community faces challenges common to many inner-city areas across the country, including physical and economic blight, high rates of crime both perceived and real, at-risk youth, high unemployment, and poverty. These issues pose serious risks to the health, safety, and overall quality of life of local residents.

 

To strategically address these challenges, the Richmond Children’s Foundation (RCF) and the East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) sponsored the Nystrom United ReVitalization Effort (NURVE). Through community-based planning and technical analysis, NURVE seeks to build a vision of a healthy and vibrant community and clear a path to achieve that vision.

 

Working closely with local residents and partners, the project sponsors seek to transform the area served by Nystrom Elementary into a place that meets the diverse needs of children and families.

 

The NURVE Neighborhood Plan, published in November 2005, represents eight months of work by the consulting team and collaboration among local stakeholders. It presents a vision for local neighborhood revitalization, as well as a road map towards achieving short- and long-term goals. It is intended to guide decision-makers and spur activity among public officials, private entities, and neighborhood residents. Ultimately, the NURVE Executive and Working Committees will assume the responsibility of implementing the Plan.

 

When planning began for the Nystrom School project in early 2006, representatives of a number of organizations and agencies began meeting on a regular basis to ensure that the NURVE vision became integrated into the planning process for future projects in the Nystrom Neighborhood. Participating agencies and organizations included:

 

• West Contra Costa Unified School District
• City of Richmond (Parks, Redevelopment, Housing Authority and City Manger’s Office)
• Richmond Children’s Foundation
• East Bay Community Foundation
• Contra Costa County
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• Rosie the Riveter Trust
• National Park Service

 

Nystrom School Demographics

 

The current enrollment of 453 K-5 students includes 41.5% African American and 49.4% Latino, with 88.5% considered socioeconomicallt disadvantaged (88.8% qualify for free lunches). English language learners constitute 42.4% (statistics from http://www.jftk-ca.org/find.php?cds=07617966004881)

 

Funding for NURVE

 

The collaborating organizations brought substantial assets to the table, including almost the entire land area, with buildings, bordered by Harbour Way and 12th Street on the east and west and Florida Avenue and Cutting Boulevard on the north and south, as well as nearly $38 million in secured funding, as follows:

 

• $2.5 million Murray Hayden Grant for Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Community Center
• $2 million CCHE Grant for Maritime Child Care Center
• $1.5 million WCCUSD commitment for Maritime Child Care Center
• $26.2 million for Nystrom School from Measure J bond funds.

Although specific fund amounts and sources have not been identified, the following additional participants have been involved in NURVE planning:

• Richmond Housing Authority to redevelop the four blocks of Nystrom Village with new, higher density housing
• Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency to redevelop unused and underutilized parcels along Cutting Boulevard

Schools as Community Centers

Critical to the success of the NURVE Plan is the commitment incorporate Nystrom School into a school-based community center. A new trend in school design that addresses a range of community problems is emerging – joint-use schools that create partnerships with other community resources including libraries, parks, health clinics, police substations, youth programs, and even farmer’s markets. These partnerships can attract more people to live and raise families closer to the core of the city and make efficient use of scarce materials and land.

Local communities are also increasingly challenged by how to finance needed new infrastructure as residents demand more and better services but resist increased taxes to pay for these. There are cost-effective solutions for building and rebuilding schools, including public-private partnerships and community-based schools that strengthen the tie between schools and neighborhoods and provide opportunities to share public facilities.

There are abundant resources that provide information and support for this concept, including:

• New Schools Better Neighborhoods
• Great Schools by Design of the American Architectural Foundation, National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
• Schools for Successful Communities.
• National Summit on School Design.

Why is the Maritime Center Important?

 

Judy Hart, former (and first) superintendent of Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park was very focused on saving the buildings and places that are important to the national park. After all, Richmond was chosen for this park largely because of the extant infrastructure that was built specifically to support the WW II Home Front effort and the Kaiser Richmond shipyards.

 

Superintendent Hart was able to find funding for several detailed studies of the two historic child care centers (Maritime and Pullman, now Ruth Powers) as well as the historic Nystrom neighborhood. She was particularly concerned about the Maritime Child Care Center because it did not have a concrete foundation and was much more endangered than the Ruth Powers Child Care Center. Both centers were closed by Contra Costa County when a new child care center was constructed adjacent to the Ruth Powers Center.

 

The Maritime Child Care Center also had special contextual importance because it is in a neighborhood that still has a critical mass of Home Front buildings, including Nystrom School, the Kaiser Field Hospital, Fire Station 67A, and Nystrom Village Housing.

 

In 2004, the Richmond Children’s Foundation (RCF), which was renting and utilizing a two-room portable building adjacent to the Maritime Center for a pre-school, expressed an interest in partnering with the National Park Service and Contra Costa County to rehabilitate the Maritime Child Care Center for use as a pre-school and kindergarten. The target for a potential matching grant became the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE), which had published RFP’s for its first round of funding for historic preservation projects under Proposition 40.

 

With a grant writer retained by RCF, the National Park Service, Contra Costa County and Rosie the Riveter Trust collaborated to author a grant application, with RCF as the applicant (actually, Richmond Elementary School, Inc.) and principal source of match funding for use of the building as a combined historical interpretive center and pre-school/kindergarten. The project envisioned a cost of $4 million with a 50% match by RCF. The application was favorably received and made it to the short list. It was almost funded, but lost only by a tie vote from the CCHE board.

 

During the ensuing year, RCF refocused its interest on funding programs rather than buildings but retained an interest as a possible user. In December of 2005, the second round of CCHE grants was announced, and I contacted a RCF representative who expressed an interest in making another run at a grant. In January, 2006, we convened a meeting of potential participants and the same grant writer who had helped prepare the 2004 application. East Bay Community Foundation, which has a close relationship with RCF, stepped up and offered to become the designated funding source for the purposes of completing the application but made it clear that other sources would eventually have to be found if the grant was successful. Rosie the Riveter Trust became the principal applicant, and the project was renamed “Maritime History Center for Working Families,” to emphasize the history aspect.

 

On the second try, the application was successful, and in April 2006, CCHE reserved $2 million in funding for the Maritime History Center for Working Families. During the summer of 2006, CCHE requested various items of information from Rosie the Riveter Trust required to place the project on a CCHE agenda for approval of actual funding. Chief among these were a long-term lease with Contra Costa County for the building and identification of the specific match funding sources and the amounts. It was thought at one time that the “NURVE Resolution” signed by the City of Richmond, WCCUSD and RCF would provide an adequate placeholder, but CCHE was not impressed. They wanted more specifics.

 

WCCUSD NURVE Resolution, July 12, 2006:

 

F.3 Resolution No. 02-0607: Adoption of Nystrom Revitalization Effort Resolution . Comment: Planning for the Nystrom Elementary School project is well underway and includes a multi-agency approach to developing the District’s school site—Nystrom Elementary, Harbor Way Academy, and the State Pre-School Program, the associated Richmond Children’s Foundation Charter School, Contra Costa County’s Maritime Center, and the City of Richmond’s adjacent park and community center, as well as the Nystrom Village Housing project. The planning process involving the District, City, and Contra Costa County is being facilitated through the efforts of a pair of non-profits East Bay Community Foundation and Local Initiative Support Corporation. The intent of the resolution is to commit the signers to support of the overall, comprehensive planning process. In addition, the resolution is to

commit the signers to support the renovation and adaptive reuse of the Maritime Center building as an integral component of the overall Nystrom project. The Rosie the Riveter Trust has received a state grant for the renovation of the building which requires a local match of up to $2 million. The District is a potential occupant of this building—for example use of the classroom spaces on the ground floor for pre-school and the use of the upstairs spaces to house the District’s State Pre-School Program administrative offices.  Recommendations: Recommend Adoption of Nystrom Revitalization Effort Resolution  Fiscal Impact: Anticipated shared expense to match state grant for Maritime Center, up to $2 million. Funded from Measure J. F.3 Resolution No. 02-0607: Adoption of Nystrom Revitalization Effort Resolution. President Ramsey called on Superintendent Harter who provided information on Resolution No. 02-0607. Public Comment: None Board Comment: Mr. Price Pfeifer moved approval of Resolution No. 02-0607: Adoption of Nystrom Revitalization Effort Resolution. Mr. Price seconded. Ms. Leong Fenton, Mr. Price, Mr. Brown, Ms. Pfeifer, and President Ramsey voting yes, with no abstentions. Motion carried.

 

During this same time period, a number of organizations and their consulting design teams were meeting regularly under the auspices of Nystrom Urban ReVitalization Effort (NURVE) to explore ways that the Nystrom School rehabilitation project (WCCUSD), the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Community Center (City of Richmond), the Maritime Child Center (Contra Costa County) could become part of an integrated super project where the whole exceeds the sum of the parts. WCCUSD brought $22 million (later as much as 33 million, but now back to $26.2 million) to the table for Nystrom School; the City of Richmond brought $2.5 million for Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and Community Center, and Rosie the Riveter Trust brought $2 million for the Maritime Child Care Center.

 

In the summer of 2006, a plan developed that would combine RCF and Nystrom School pre-school classrooms and administrative functions at the Maritime Child Care Center, and both RCF and WCCUSD would share in the funding match for rehabilitation. On August 16, the WCCUSD Board authorized Interactive Resources, as part of the Nystrom master plan, to provide preliminary design services for rehabilitation of the Maritime Center, including an updated construction cost estimate.

WCCUSD Design Authorization, August 16, 2006:

 

CI E.21 Architectural services contract for preliminary design of Maritime Center—Nystrom. Comment: The next step in considering use of the Maritime Center adjacent to the Nystrom Elementary School site is for the District to retain an architect for preliminary planning and design work to develop an accurate conceptual scope of work and an appropriate budget for the project. The Board has approved a resolution and committed matching funds to assist in the renovation of the Maritime Center, along with the City of Richmond and the Richmond Children’s Foundation. This preliminary planning work will include intensive facility assessments, programming, conceptual design for proposed uses, structural and systems analysis, and cost estimating. The architect for the Nystrom site is Interactive Resources of Point Richmond. They are recommended to complete this work on the Maritime Center. The District is considering housing the State Preschool program classrooms and offices in this building, as it is anticipated that the existing buildings housing their program will be demolished. This concept will be reviewed as a part of this contract. Recommendation: Approve Contract with Interactive Resources

Fiscal Impact: Total for this action: $47,910, including $5,000 for reimbursable expenses. Funded from the Measure J Bond Program.

August 16, 2006, Consent Calendar unanimous

 

Anticipating that the October meeting of the CCHE might be the last opportunity to preserve funding for the Maritime History Center for Working Families, both RCF and WCCUSD adopted resolutions committing match funding for the project and authorizing letters to be sent to CCHE. It was understood, however, that both RCF and WCCUSD would have to take further action to actually appropriate funds for the project. The letters were intended primarily to satisfy CCHE’s requirements to place the item on their October 26 agenda for approval.

 

CCHE did, in fact, approve funding for the project on October 26, 2006. Meanwhile, commitments for space in the Maritime Center were unraveling. The RCF commitment had always been subject to WCCUSD committing space on the Nystrom campus for their K-12 charter school, College Prep Charter School, which already had two pre-school classrooms and two kindergarten classrooms up and operating in portables on the Maritime site by September 2006. Both RCF and Nystrom participated with Interactive Resources in programming and design of classrooms and administrative spaces for their respective needs, and it appeared that space was adequate. However, WCCUSD subsequently decided to incorporate its pre-school within the existing Nystrom campus.

 

Similarly, the RCF plans are up in the air, waiting on some resolution by WCCUSD. Next fall, RCF plans to expand into two first grade classes but has not identified a location. But it appears that the Maritime Center will now become the RCF Charter School location. RCF is receptive to going into Maritime, and the WCCUSD has a statutory obligation to provide adequate housing for charter schools. By using Maritime for RCF, the WCCUSD can use $2.5 million of grant money and City of Richmond to help pay for it.

 

WCCUSD Monetary Commitments, October 18, 2006

 

F.7 Maritime Center Facility – Request for Monetary Commitment President Ramsey called on Tom Butt, Richmond City Council, who introduced Lucy Lawliss, National Park Services, and Al Prince, Community Services Department of the County. They were available to answer questions that the Board may have. Public Comment: Gretchen Borg Board Comment: Mr. Price, Ms. Leong Fenton, Mr. Brown, Ms. Pfeifer, President Ramsey Motion Ms. Pfeifer moved approval of the District monetary commitment of up to $1.5 million dollars from Measure Funds toward matching the California Cultural Historical Endowment contingent upon the following conditions: That the General Counsel of the School District determines that all legal conditions have been met which will allow the expenditure of Measure J Bond Funds on the Maritime Historical Center Building. That the City of Richmond makes a firm pledge of at least $500,000 toward renovation of the Maritime Historical Center Building. And that the County of Contra Costa offers to deed to the School District the Maritime Historical Center property. After discussion Ms. Pfeifer withdrew her original motion to approve the Maritime Center Facility. Mr. Price withdrew his second. Motion Ms. Pfeifer moved approval of the District monetary commitment of up to $1.5 million dollars from Measure Funds toward matching the California Cultural Historical Endowment contingent upon the following  conditions: That the General Counsel of the School District determine that all legal conditions have been met which will allow the expenditure of Measure J Bond Funds on the Maritime Historical Center Building, and That the City of Richmond make a firm pledge of at least $500,000 toward renovation of the Maritime Historical Center Building. Mr. Price seconded. A roll call vote was taken: Ms. Leong Fenton and Mr. Brown voting no, Mr. Price, Ms. Pfeifer, and President Ramsey voting yes, with no abstention. Motion carried 3-2. Mr. Price made a motion to directed staff to write a letter to the California Cultural Historical Endowment indicating the commitment designated by the Board this evening. Ms. Pfeifer seconded. Ms. Leong Fenton voting no, Ms. Pfeifer, Mr. Price, President Ramsey voting yes, with Mr. Brown abstaining. Motion carried.

 

Nystrom Neighborhood, Richmond (http://www.eastbaycf.org/comneeds_full.doc)

 

Issue: Can community engagement around public assets be used as tools for community building?

Overview

The neighborhood^* around Richmond’s Nystrom Elementary School and the MLK Jr. Community Center and Park faces significant challenges common to many low-income communities, such as economic blight, high crime rates, at-risk youth, high unemployment and poverty. This neighborhood is one of Richmond’s more impoverished areas, with low-income families making up a major share of households. In 2003, Nystrom’s median annual household income was only $30,588, while 31% of Nystrom households had annual incomes of less than $15,000. Unemployment remains a persistent problem in the community, with approximately 10% of Nystrom residents in the labor force unemployed. In addition, Nystrom Elementary School is the lowest performing elementary school in west Contra Costa County and Richmond Police Department records show that crime remains a pervasive problem in the community.

At the same time, Nystrom is a dynamic, rapidly growing community, with an increasing proportion of Hispanic and young residents. The neighborhood is growing rapidly—from 1990 to 2000, the population increased an average of 2.1% per year. During this time the neighborhood’s racial and ethnic composition also changed significantly. Over 61% of the population is African American, although this number fell by 12% from 1990 and 2000.  In contrast, the number of Hispanic residents has grown by 374% since 1990 and Hispanics now makes up approximately 29% of the neighborhood’s population. Young people constitute a major portion of the community, with youth up to 19 years old comprising 39% of residents.

Community Revitalization

To address these challenges and take advantage of these opportunities, EBCF and the Richmond Children’s Foundation (RCF) are sponsoring the Nystrom United Revitalization Effort (NURVE) that seeks to build a vision of a healthy and vibrant community and clear a path to achieve that vision. Working closely with local residents and partners, the project seeks to transform the Nystrom neighborhood into a place that meets the diverse needs of children and families. For example, although Nystrom Elementary and MLK Jr. Community Center and Park remain underused and need significant maintenance, NURVE believes they have the potential to become valuable resources for local families and youth, offering recreation, education, employment, and health services. By revitalizing the school and community center, this initiative hopes to create a greater sense of community.

This effort, which began in 2003, is working to identify key neighborhood sites that can serve as catalysts for community development, such as a new full-service grocery store, more affordable housing, a renovated community center and streetscape improvements. Working with EBCF and RCF, stakeholders are currently in a planning process to define more specific goals for the project, identify key strategies for economic development and engage residents in the revitalization effort.  In 2004, the project hired Bay Area Economics and other consultants to produce a detailed report on existing neighborhood conditions and a proposed neighborhood plan. 

Although the project is coordinated by EBCF and RCF, there is significant community involvement and input. The project is advised by an Executive Committee, made up of representatives from the City of Richmond (planning department, Mayor’s office), West Contra Costa school district, neighborhood councils and others. A Working Committee, designated by the Executive Committee, provides ongoing management and direction. The Working Committee includes Neighborhood Council presidents, community leaders, public officials, and other stakeholders that help to assure the project remains true to the goals of the community at large.  The project has also sought community engagement through numerous one-on-one interviews with a broad range of stakeholders and by training high-school students to interview other residents about neighborhood service and retail needs.  Student researchers from the Ma’at Youth Academy conducted 30 one-on-one interviews with residents at key public locations. Results of these interviews are described in the consultants’ reports.

Accomplishments

In a significant sign of success, project partners helped the City of Richmond receive a $2.5 million California State grant to revitalize the community center and park. Through the grant, NURVE and other partners will significantly upgrade the park (with a playground, picnic area, garden, running track etc) and improve the center (upgrade parking/entry/lighting, add areas for teens, job training, seniors, exercise, etc.). Through this effort, NURVE hopes to revitalize the community center as a center of neighborhood services, including space for organizations providing youth services, visual/performing arts and employment/training services.

NURVE consultants have also produced a detailed neighborhood plan that identifies key community needs and strategies for meeting these needs. Recommendations from the neighborhood plan include:

1) A streetscape program that improves the appearance and safety of Nystrom Elementary School and the MLK Jr. Community Center/Park through street trees, widened sidewalks and other safety measures; and 2) Six possible “opportunity sites” for development projects that address local needs such as affordable housing, community services, and local-serving retail centers.

Challenges

The challenges for this community initiative are very similar to those faced by other community-engagement efforts in low-income neighborhoods. Nystrom is a neglected part of Richmond and thus has no large nonprofit organizations focused on the neighborhood’s problems or how to fix them.  For this reason, the project’s leadership is in the hands of non-local organizations such as EBCF, Richmond Children’s Foundation and hired consultants. In this way, the project might help to create a shiny new community center or other projects, but if neighborhood residents are not truly behind this effort, the programming and sustainability of the center (and other projects) remain in question.