ATLANTA, Aug. 7, 2024 — Purpose Built Communities, a national leader in resident-centered neighborhood revitalization, is pleased to announce that Network Member Blueprint 15 partnered with the City of Syracuse and Syracuse Housing Authority in receiving a landmark award of a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiatives (CNI) Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be invested in the 15th Ward neighborhood in Syracuse. The $50 million award for the East Adams Neighborhood Transformation Plan (Transformation Plan) is the first-ever CNI Implementation Grant in New York State.

Syracuse, one of only six cities nationwide recognized with a 2024 Implementation Grant from HUD’s CNI program, won the grant – within the footprint of Blueprint 15 – to reinvest in 15th Ward, a historic Black community physically divided by Interstate 81. The revitalization is critical to addressing decades of disinvestment. The funds will help create a new East Adams Neighborhood with more diverse housing options and more significant educational, economic, and health opportunities for current and future residents.

“We’re thrilled that another neighborhood in Purpose Built’s Network has secured a CNI implementation grant. This award emphasizes the leadership and transformative work Blueprint 15 is doing in the historic community of the 15th Ward,” says Carol Naughton, Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Built Communities. “Elected officials advocated for their constituents in Syracuse, which is consistent with the sustainable impact of the neighborhood-focused work that Purpose Built does daily for greater racial equity, improved community health and wellness outcomes, and increased upward economic mobility for communities.”

Blueprint 15, a key supporter and partner in the CNI Transformation Plan and a local nonprofit organization dedicated to serving Syracuse’s 15th Ward, operates a resident-driven group to ensure local voices lead transformation efforts. As part of the Purpose Built Communities Network, Blueprint 15 coordinates capital and programmatic investments into neighborhoods across the four pillars of mixed-income housing, a cradle-to-college education pipeline, community health and wellness, and economic vitality. It utilizes the holistic approach that Purpose Built Communities have replicated nationwide. To date, several of Purpose Built’s Network Members have been part of CNI grant-related projects.

“The CNI Grant the Syracuse Housing Authority’s transformation plan for the East Adams Neighborhood, which has not seen any investment since the urban renewal era that decimated our community with the construction of the I-81 viaduct instead of improving it,” said Raquan Pride-Green, Executive Director of Blueprint 15. “We are grateful that our Children Rising Center project is a signature and critical community impact that will receive funding from this award and provide jobs, early learning, and health and wellness service advances for our neighborhood. Blueprint 15 prioritizes residents’ needs and inputs in every decision, which is crucial for the success and sustainability of a thriving community.”

The Transformation Plan will aim to rejuvenate the 15th Ward through key components, including:

  • Replacing over 600 units of public housing with 1,404 units of mixed-income housing and new streets over the ten years.
  • Improving access to higher quality education by building a pipeline of students for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) High School and supporting the development of the Children Rising Center, which includes an early learning center and space for health, wellness, and recreational opportunities.
  • Accelerating economic opportunities through workforce training and business development.
  • Enhancing neighborhood synergy, visibility, and safety through public infrastructure improvements and using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.
  • Placemaking and multi-park improvements and a neighborhood museum commemorating the legacy of the Historic 15th Ward.
  • Offering services and support to ensure residents have access to essential resources.

This initiative is part of a sweeping $1.2 billion investment drive for the 15th Ward, drawing contributions from federal, state, county, and city resources alongside private and philanthropic partners envisioned to bring extensive change. Learn more about Purpose Built Communities Network Members and the neighborhoods that they serve.

About Purpose Built Communities
Purpose Built Communities is a national nonprofit that coaches, connects, resources, and convenes local member organizations to strengthen neighborhoods where we are invited to work and demonstrate evidence of the model’s impact. Purpose Built’s network is comprised of Community Quarterback organizations that execute the work – along with many partners – at the neighborhood level and contribute to the health and vitality of the network as a whole. Every neighborhood will be the pathway to opportunity and prosperity for the people who call it home. Neighborhoods matter, and so do the people who live there. Investing in place is an investment in people, leading to a prosperous future for all.