Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Neighborhood Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DEDO to move NEST under business development, pilot NRSA in La Alma Lincoln Park
Summary
DEDO said it will fold its NEST neighborhood work into business development to align resources and use CDBG/NRSA targeting; council members raised concerns about an 80% apparent reduction in NEST funding and asked for data on LMI and staffing.
The Denver Economic Development Opportunity told the City Council Finance & Business Committee that it will consolidate the NEST neighborhood function under business development to concentrate staff and funding and to better marshal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and other resources.
DEDO’s presenter said the consolidation is intended to remove internal walls between divisions and provide NEST teams with greater access to grants, lending and technical assistance. The agency identified 18 NEST neighborhoods and said it will pilot a Neighborhood Development Initiative in La Alma Lincoln Park. The presenter described the HUD Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) designation as a tool that, when qualifying poverty thresholds are met, allows the city to deliver up to $50,000 per job created to a designated neighborhood in loans or grants.
Several council members expressed concern that the NEST line in the budget appeared to fall by roughly 80% in the published budget book. The presenter said much of that change resulted from the exhaustion of ARPA-funded vacancies and the loss of about $500,000 in technical assistance grants; he said NEST would retain four full‑time staff focused on those neighborhoods and that the consolidation would allow NEST work to access additional SRF and CDBG resources.
Councilmembers requested an NRSA briefing to clarify the differences between NRSA designation and the NEST program and asked DEDO to provide LMI (low‑to‑moderate‑income) data and a schedule for designating additional neighborhoods beyond the pilot. The presenter said the Herman Malone fund and targeted CDBG investments would be among the tools used to advance anti‑displacement and neighborhood business support goals.
No formal action was taken; councilmembers asked DEDO to provide follow-up data on staffing, grant shifts and neighborhood selections.
