The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) is a grant from HUD to transform distressed neighborhoods and public housing into mixed-income neighborhoods linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs. Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals:
HOUSING: Replace distressed public housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood.
PEOPLE: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth with services and supports delivered directly to youth and their families.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.
Marcos de Niza Community
The City of Phoenix Housing Department is applying for a fiscal year 2024 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Marcos de Niza Apartments and the surrounding community. If awarded, the grant will be used to develop a Transformation Plan that will guide the future redevelopment of the Marcos de Niza Apartments. The Plan will also identify targeted neighborhood improvements to raise the quality of life and a supportive services program tailored to the needs and interests of Marcos de Niza residents.
The Transformation Plan development process will include multiple opportunities and options for residents to be involved in the development of the plan and to provide input including community workshops, focus groups and Resident and Youth Leadership Councils, to name a few. The planning process, anticipated to take 24 to 30 months, will start with getting to know the history of the community. Once we understand where the community has been as well as where the community is today, the Housing Department will work with residents to create a shared vision for the future. This vision will inform the possible options for the future redevelopment of Marcos de Niza Apartments and neighborhood investments that will be presented to the community for their review and feedback. This input will be used to refine the housing and neighborhood designs and arrive at a preferred program. Once complete, the Transformation Plan will serve as a road map for future public and private investment in the community.
Marcos de Niza CN Fact Sheet
