In conjunction with the Housing Authority of the City of Paterson,
Roizman developed a HOPE VI master plan and submitted an application for HOPE VI funds in July 1997.
On October 24, 1997 HUD awarded a total of $22 million for the revitalization of Christopher Columbus Homes and off-site developments in surrounding communities within the City of Paterson.
HUD's HOPE VI program is unique among existing affordable housing programs in that it: 1) changes the physical shape of public housing, 2) establishes positive incentives for residents self-sufficiency and comprehensive services that empower residents, 3) lessens concentrations of poverty by placing public housing residents in non-poverty neighborhoods or promoting mixed-income communities and 4) forges partnerships with other agencies, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses to leverage support and resources.
In Paterson, the HOPE VI funds were leveraged by additional public and private funding sources to a total development cost of $61 million, and were being utilized for the revitalization of the obsolete and severely distressed Christopher Columbus Homes public housing complex and the surrounding Riverside neighborhood.
The original Christopher Columbus Homes development, which consisted of 498 undersized and excessively concentrated high-rise apartments, has been demolished after extensive environmental remediation, and has been replaced with 343 low rise, mixed-income units. Of the 343 units, 100 were developed on scattered sites throughout the neighborhood, eliminating vacant debris-strewn lots, and deteriorated, abandoned structures, thereby mending the urban fabric. Thirty of the scattered site units are designated for home ownership, increasing resident "stake-holding" in the area. The remainder of the units were distributed across three development sites, including 134 units on the original Christopher Columbus Homes site, 40 units within the Great Falls Historic District, 70 units within the Riverside neighborhood and 69 units located at Kathy's Court, thereby lessening density in the project area, and distributing the benefits of the new housing resources throughout the city.
Roizman has considerable experience in undertaking HOPE VI developments, where resident involvement is an integral part of the revitalization of distressed urban sites by design. As with other HOPE VI sites, before Roizman submitted a HOPE VI application in Paterson, the company developed a complete understanding of the site dynamics and then prepared a development plan, inclusive of relocation measures, that would satisfy the needs of all residents as well as the surrounding communities and city as a whole.
Currently, the completed developments at Christopher Columbus Homes and Greater Paterson Development operate at a 100% occupancy rate, and have been a catalyst for stability and redevelopment in the area.
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