Healthy Neighborhoods
Jamestown has many strong and vibrant neighborhoods with well-crafted homes, soaring tree canopies, red-brick streets, and scenic hillsides. Unfortunately, many of these properties suffer from some degree of disinvestment and poor upkeep—a vicious cycle that lowers the value of entire blocks and discourages new investment.
Jamestown Renaissance Corporation works with a wide range of community partners to break this cycle of disinvestment by giving residents the confidence and encouragement to invest time, energy, and resources in their homes and neighborhoods.
Through projects, educational programs, and policy support, the JRC aims to:
> Support targeted reinvestment in the city’s housing stock
> Promote beautification through gardening and landscaping
> Explore productive uses for vacant land
> Improve systems for managing vacant and abandoned property
> Encourage proactive and engaged neighborhoods
Neighborhood Reinvestment
Neighborhood reinvestment can be contagious. One homeowner fixing a porch or planting some flowers can start a positive chain reaction, giving others the confidence and encouragement to improve their own properties.
The JRC facilitates programs designed specifically to stimulate this cascading effect by providing small grants to groups of property owners for exterior improvements, as well as support for projects that build neighborhood camaraderie.
Renaissance Block Challenge
The Neighborhood Renaissance Block Challenge encourages groups of neighbors to collaborate on exterior improvements to their properties in order to boost confidence in Jamestown’s neighborhoods and inspire others to reinvest.
Participating property owners in a Renaissance Block are eligible for the following assistance, regardless of income:
> Matching funds (a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $2,000, for exterior improvements)
> Access to discounts from sponsoring hardware stores and garden centers
> Discounts from coordinated purchasing of materials or services
> Design assistance
