Current Rosewood Courts residents are HACA’s key constituency and bringing them meaningfully into the planning process was a high priority. In order to engage Rosewood Courts residents, and more importantly to improve their ability to articulate their desires for Rosewood Courts and the surrounding neighborhood during meetings with more vocal and long-standing neighborhood groups, a number of activities were undertaken to improve their capacity and ability to participate in planning. The planning team met with only Rosewood Courts residents on multiple occasions to solicit ideas, information and opinions about what a new Rosewood Courts should look like.  Austin Interfaith mentored residents so that they could express their views concerning the future of Rosewood Courts before HACA’s Board of Commissioners and the Texas Historical Commission and in community planning meetings. This effort to build capacity of Rosewood Courts residents to actively participate in planning for the future has been a hallmark of the planning process.

Training was conducted with the Rosewood Courts Resident Council and other interested residents. These trainings provided basic information on understanding power, credentialing, qualities of leaders, levels of leadership, how to gather information on issues of cross-cutting concerns at Rosewood Courts. Outside of the apprenticeship program, approximately 10 residents attended a “house meeting” with Austin Interfaith and HACA Choice Neighborhoods staff to share their particular concerns and experiences regarding employment and childcare. The meeting assessed the interest of participants in canvassing other Rosewood Courts residents regarding their experiences with these particular issues.

Residents also went on a bus tour of other affordable housing projects throughout Austin to see what is possible at Rosewood Courts. Everyone was encouraged to stay involved in the planning process and has been kept informed through a monthly newsletter, The Rosewood Report.

Click Here to Download a Newsletter Detailing an Open House for Rosewood Courts Residents (50 k)

Click Here to Download the Ellis Heights Planning Timeline (50 k)

Creating a Plan that can actually transform a neighborhood is a daunting task – one that must begin with a vision that is embraced not just by those who live in the neighborhood, but those who will be asked to invest in its future. Rockford’s Choice Neighborhoods Planning process began with a number of committed partners at the table. We worked diligently to make sure that neighborhood residents were actively involved in developing the Ellis Heights Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan. The goal has been to plan with rather than for the neighborhood.

An integrated and comprehensive approach was used to develop the Ellis Heights Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan. We engaged residents of the Fairground Valley Apartments and surrounding Ellis Heights neighborhood as well as a variety of organizational stakeholders including the City of Rockford (police, planning, Mayor, public works, health and human services), Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning (RMAP), Rockford Public Schools, Rockford Park District, Winnebago County Health Department, Rockford Health Council, Rock Valley College, faith-based groups and a cross section of other service providers active in the area. Five major community meetings were held to allow the planning team to explain the planning process, understand neighborhood, issues and challenges and opportunities and identify strategies for improvement. A planning Task Force made up of key organizational stakeholders also met on a regular basis to build upon the work accomplished at the community meetings. These partners have continued to help refine Plan projects and make commitments for their implementation.

The Rosewood Choice planning process includes the identification of actions that could be implemented during planning to build support for the Rosewood Choice Neighborhoods Plan. There are several “early action” projects of note.

Capital Metro has engaged Rosewood Courts residents around transit education so that they can get to the grocery store and other important destinations most efficiently. It takes longer to get to the closest grocery store by bus than to more distant and better stocked stores due to the necessity of bus transfers. Capital Metro regularly reviews routes and has engaged Rosewood Courts residents to secure their input on possible neighborhood bus route modifications that will provide better service for transit riders. Rosewood Courts residents are considering applying for a bus route change in August 2014.

On March 2, 2013, Austin’s It’s My Park Day drew Rosewood Courts residents and HACA staff to participate in a Rosewood Park Clean-up and Boggy Creek Park Pavilion restoration; participation in the projects enabled HACA staff to establish contacts with Keep Austin Beautiful and the Austin Parks Foundation that were instrumental in initiating the Poquito Creek Clean-up in November 2013.

In collaboration with Blackshear Bridge, a community garden and environmental enrichment program at Blackshear Elementary School, and Keep Austin Beautiful, a local non-profit organization that provides resources and education to inspire Austin toward greater environmental stewardship, HACA teamed up to tackle a two-fold action project for the community. On November 16, 2013 Poquito Creek was cleaned up and litter was cleared on both sides of Rosewood Courts, and trees, shrubs and vegetables were planted at Blackshear Elementary School. Rosewood Courts resident volunteers worked side-by-side with HACA staff and other neighbors, which helped establish informal relationships and understanding.

One of the needs identified by Rosewood Courts residents at the initial planning meetings was a safer pedestrian crossing at Chicon Street, between Rosewood Courts and Salina Apartments. With the management office and community room for both properties located at Salina, Rosewood Courts residents need to cross Chicon regularly, between the two properties. Students traveling from Blackshear and Kealing schools must also regularly use this crossing. HACA’s project team began discussions with the Austin Public Works Department early in its planning process to determine possible safety improvements. Finding little support for this safety measure early on, the Rosewood Courts Resident Council has since established a relationship with the Public Works Department’s Neighborhood Partnering Program and plans to apply for a grant to implement traffic calming measures or a crosswalk in this area.

The Rosewood Courts Resident Apprenticeship Program was established to develop leadership capacity that could translate into improved opportunities for residents. This 10-month program, which began in January 2014, is training selected Rosewood Courts residents to become leaders so they can speak on behalf of the Rosewood Choice Neighborhoods Initiative and other important community issues. Participants are learning valuable empowerment and job readiness skills, and are building self-esteem and self-confidence that can be drawn upon to support them in future opportunities and endeavors. The fifteen leadership development trainings and the revitalization, historic preservation, affordable housing, neighborhood engagement and homeownership seminars that have been conducted with the apprentices to date have all been very successful. While Austin Interfaith plays an integral role in providing weekly leadership training as part of the apprenticeship, they have also begun to put their teaching into action with the residents – supporting residents to organize around relevant issues both on the Rosewood Courts property and in the community. Several participants have already gained the confidence and skills needed to secure employment or transition back into the workforce.