Bay Area Smart Growth Fund In Action

A business group in the Bay Area invests in a private firm 'to bring private dollars into poor neighborhoods and promote infill, local business revitalization and contaminated site cleanup.'

November 13, 2003, 7am PST | Connie Chung

"A Bay Area business group announced Friday a $2.7 million investment in an Oakland firm that will refurbish and sell housing to low-income families in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The effort is part of the Bay Area Council's smart growth fund, which seeks to revitalize and invest in 46 of the Bay Area's poorest neighborhoods....The investment will allow Ascend Residential Properties Inc. to acquire, rehabilitate and sell 190 single-family homes in the next five years....The council created the smart growth and related investment funds, now worth $150 million, as part of its role in the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Communities."

Thanks to Connie Chung

Full Story:

Business group funds low-income housing

Published on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 in Contra Costa Times-Walnut Creek