Sept. 11-13: Cartersville hosting state community housing conference

Media release: The Clarence Brown Conference Center in Cartersville will serve as the conference site for the September 11^th to 13^th meeting of the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH). The conference, in which approximately 150 people will participate, consists of training sessions, a mobile workshop, reception and awards luncheon.

 

The Georgia Initiative for Community Housing is a partnership of the UGA Housing and Demographics Research Center, the UGA Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Georgia Municipal Association. Implementation partners include Georgia EMC; UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government; and the UGA Archway Partnership. The Initiative offers Georgia communities a three-year program of collaboration and technical assistance in addressing their housing and neighborhood revitalization needs. Georgia Power Company is the Founding Sponsor. Other major sponsors are USDA Rural Development and Wells Fargo.

 

Session topics include Land Bank Authority Law; Best Practices in Code Enforcement; and Rental Housing Development. During the mobile tour, participants will stop in Cartersville's North Towne revitalization area and get an overview of City-wide redevelopment activities. Since Cartersville first became associated with the GICH program in 2004, local public and private activities include adoption of an urban redevelopment plan and State approval of two opportunity zones; demolition of dilapidated structures; renovation of private and public housing; new single-family construction; a relocated pocket park for improved safety and aesthetics; drainage improvements; and utility line replacements. Richard Osborne, City Planner for Cartersville, stated that "this event is a great opportunity for folks from across Georgia to learn about the city and how both our public and private partners have invested in community revitalization."

 

Representatives of various communities participate in this community housing planning program, and representatives include members of non-profit groups, local governments, bankers, architects, property investors and others. GICH provides communities with the opportunity to participate in a series of facilitated retreats. Over the three-year period, the community housing teams attend six planning retreats. These retreats are modeled on the National League of Cities' successful Affordable Housing Program. This model allows the teams to work in a focused retreat setting, while learning and interacting with the housing teams from other communities. Current and past participants include Brunswick, Covington, Dalton, Gainesville, Griffin, Milledgeville, Newnan, Rome, Thomasville, Tifton, Valdosta and Warner Robins. Cartersville participated in the program from 2004 to 2007.

 

Mr. Osborne said that "the City of Cartersville appreciates the sponsors that are working with us during this conference – Belk; Cartersville-Bartow Economic Development; Cartersville School System; Haigler Systems Architecture; Jenkins & Bowen PC; Longhorn Steakhouse; Northwest Georgia Regional Commission; Shaw Floors; and Southland Engineering." For more information about the GICH conference or about ongoing Cartersville revitalization activities, contact Mr. Osborne at 770-387-5614.