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Landmark Building in Bronx Houses Many Services |
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For two decades, the massive neo-Renaissance complex that was once Morrisania Hospital stood shuttered on East 168th Street near the Bronx's Grand Concourse—a monument to urban decay. Today, however, it houses a thriving multipurpose economic development center that provides jobs, job training, housing, and family services. Reclamation of the building—recently home to drug addicts, the homeless, and rats—"accelerated community economic development" in the South Bronx and "empowered a community to believe in itself again," says Nancy Biberman, president of
the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCO) in New York. For the past 4 years, WHEDCO's Urban Horizons Economic Development Center has operated a variety of mutually reinforcing services in this former hospital in one of the nation's poorest communities. "Getting people back into the workforce requires more than just giving them a skill," says Biberman. "There are a host of other issues that need to be addressed—child care, health care, housing—before someone can take and stick with a job." Last year Urban Horizons received the HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award, given jointly by HUD and the American Planning Association. Joining forces for redevelopment. Redevelopment of the historic Morrisania property was a "political masterpiece," according to project architect Bruce Redman Becker of Becker and Becker Associates in New Canaan, Connecticut. Everything, from site acquisition to project planning and building design, "involved both political negotiations and calculated tradeoffs," he says. To gain control of the site, WHEDCO partnered with the Parents Association of Public School 235, a bilingual elementary school that was without a permanent location (but which is now located adjacent to the center). Biberman worked closely with school parents to help develop "the leadership potential of grassroots women who then advocated successfully for us." The $23 million project required reviews and approvals from more than half a dozen local, city, and state agencies. The state of New York provided almost $11 million in low-interest loans, and approximately $13 million came from equity investment through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. Approximately 150,000 square feet of the facility was converted to affordable housing, and approximately 40,000 square feet became the Urban Horizons Economic Development Center. Within the development center approximately 4,000 square feet is used by the Urban Horizons Food Company. Administrative functions claim 1,000 square feet, a fitness center takes up 2,000 square feet, a health center uses 2,500 square feet, and the Head Start program occupies 5,000 square feet. The remaining space is used for classrooms and offices to support program staff. Of the 400 people involved in construction of the new center, 85 percent were minorities and 80 percent were neighborhood residents. Almost 30 percent of the combined value of all subcontracts went to firms owned by women or minorities. Construction began in 1996, and 14 months later, in May 1997, the apartments opened. "We wanted housing that residents could take pride in—as much like market rate as possible," says architect Becker. Despite their affordable rents (three-bedroom units go for as little as $500 a month), the 132 apartments boast features such as wall sconces, decorative flooring, hardwood cabinets, and tile backsplashes in the kitchen. Although many tenants take advantage of Urban Horizons' programs, they are under no obligation to do so. Food companies support training activities. Ten percent of the space in the economic development center is dedicated to the Urban Horizons Food Company. This food service enterprise consists of a culinary arts institute (a 6-month vocational training program for low-income individuals in a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen) and three for-profit businesses (a catering company, a wholesale bakery, and a retail prepared foods division). Approximately 30 students are enrolled in the culinary arts program at any given time, and approximately one-half of them graduate. The food businesses, which add much-needed funds to Urban Horizons' coffers, are staffed by culinary arts students. The wholesale baking company supplies goods to several area restaurants. With revenues of $250,000 last year, the food services programs still do not turn a profit. "Over the next 5 years, we hope to diminish the losses. We might break even," says Biberman. Getting and retaining jobs. During 1999 WHEDCO found jobs for 249 adults; 118 of them found jobs during the first half of 2000. Over the past 4 years, WHEDCO has helped place 584 adults in full-time jobs. The job retention rate is impressive. "Four-fifths of our graduates are working after 90 days and, on average, close to three-quarters of those placed are still working after 180 days," says Biberman. Through Urban Horizons' Innovations at Work program, 10 formerly homeless women have mastered Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Graduates of the 3-month, 20-hour-a-week curriculum are expected to start out earning at least $11 an hour. Urban Horizons also offers "soft skills" training in issues such as interviewing skills, appearance, and handling personality conflicts. Unlike most welfare-to-work programs, Urban Horizons has built an extensive support network to ensure that a trainee who finds a job can stay with it. For mothers of preschoolers there is a 95-student Head Start program on site. Even more important is the home childcare network associated with the center. During 1999 the center trained 700 new and experienced providers to help start or expand family daycare operations. More than 100 of these women have passed the rigorous requirements to get into the network, developing true microenterprises that serve more than 350 children. When the bilingual Rafael Hernandez School opened in September 2000, Urban Horizons was ready to provide an afterschool program for 350 students, funded by The After School Corporation, a New York-based nonprofit supported by a local philanthropist. Finding child care and coping with sick children are two of the biggest obstacles facing women who want to return to the workforce, says Biberman. "Welfare reform is not operating well in New York. There are woefully insufficient funds for child care," she states. Urban Horizons also has onsite health care. Medical services are provided by the Institute for Urban Family Health, a nonprofit corporation in New York City serving communities with a high medical need through primary healthcare services and health professional education. Keeping track of it all. The price tag for all of the programs in the Urban Horizons center stands at approximately $7 million a year. "Add in the residential building and our budget is close to $10 million, though the apartments mostly pay for themselves," says Biberman. With a staff of 120 employees—among them former welfare recipients—Urban Horizons administers 13 different government contracts, all state funded, except for Head Start. The center is funded approximately half-and-half with public and private funds, says Biberman, noting that 25 to 30 foundations are funding the center at one time. Urban Horizons has a full-time director of research and development and is about to add a communications and development staffer. To maintain and attract funding and to help fine-tune its programs, Urban Horizons has implemented a client tracking and performance database. The database has more than 6,500 data elements and 300 screens containing information on intakes/applications, case notes, assessments and referrals, case management, employer and service directories, followups, and terminations. WHEDCO plans to use the data it collects to support its advocacy program. "We intend to be a speaker and a player," says Biberman. "When we articulate positions on how to improve welfare reform, we'll have the figures to back them up." WHEDCO is now planning to develop a 100-unit assisted-living facility for senior citizens in New York's arts community. Dubbed "The House of Elder Artists," Biberman hopes the $20 million development will become a place in which, rather than retire, elderly people who have been involved in the arts will continue to be a part of the city's vast cultural life. For more information, contact: Nancy Biberman, President, Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation, 50 East 168th Street, Bronx, NY 10452, (718) 839-1100, www.whedco.org. Or see: "HUD Secretary's Opportunity and Empowerment Award; Urban Horizons Economic Development Center," Planning, April 2000.
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