HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge Visits HACSB Affordable Housing Community

On August 24, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge visited the Arrowhead Grove community in San Bernardino as part of a two-day visit to California to see first-hand how affordable housing programs are making a difference in local communities. Secretary Fudge was joined at Arrowhead Grove by Congressman Pete Aguilar (CA 33^rd District), HUD Regional Administrator Jason Pu, and HUD Los Angeles Field Office Director Laurie Udit for a discussion about local housing issues with City of San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, City of Redlands Mayor Eddie Tejeda, City of Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren, City of Grand Terrace Mayor Pro Tem Doug Wilson, National Community Renaissance Vice President of Public Affairs Lorraine Kindred, and Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB) Executive Director Maria Razo.

Arrowhead Grove is the revitalized housing community located at the site of the former Waterman Gardens Public Housing development.  Originally built in 1943, the development was one of the oldest Public Housing communities in San Bernardino County.  In 2013, HACSB partnered with National Community Renaissance to redevelop the aging property.  HACSB leveraged a variety of resources to finance the redevelopment efforts, including the HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, programming flexibilities available to HACSB through its designation as a Moving to Work agency, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME funds from the City of San Bernardino and County of San Bernardino, and traditional financing.  The redevelopment has taken place in phases, with the first three phases opening between 2016 and 2021.  Future phases will include additional affordable and market-rate units as well as single-family homes available for sale to low-income first-time homebuyers.  When completed, the community will offer more than 400 affordable apartment homes available for rent to low-income households.

Speaking about the need for housing across the country, Secretary Fudge stated, “We need to build housing that is resilient, certainly, but we need to look at building other kinds of housing.  We can’t create any more land… We have to look at new things. That’s the only way we survive.”

The revitalization of the Arrowhead Grove community is not only helping to meet the growing demand for affordable rental housing by increasing the number of units available but is also helping to bring new opportunities to the residents and surrounding communities.  The availability of affordable rental housing, market-rate rental housing, and single-family homes available for purchase all in one community provides families the opportunity to enjoy housing that fits their income and lifestyle while staying in the neighborhood they call home.

“The revitalization at Arrowhead Grove would probably not have been possible without the flexibilities offered through our Moving to Work designation and the RAD program,” said HACSB Executive Director Maria Razo. “We are so grateful that Secretary Fudge visited this community to see how programming flexibilities and collaboration with dedicated partners has created powerful, positive change for an entire community.”