By Dana Bykowski
November 4, 2002

Augusta, Georgia Mayor Bob Young recently hosted a CitiesFirst™ Roundtable addressing affordable housing and economic development issues particular to the Augusta area. Scott Syphax, President of Nehemiah Corporation of California, and Regional Liaison Director Rachel Allen, of the Georgia HUD office, also joined Mayor Young in hosting the event. The roundtable was an important opportunity for the city, local housing and community development organizations, and government agency partners to work together on housing issues through CitiesFirst™.

One of the major issues for Augusta residents seems to be the lack of affordable housing near places of employment. With an encouraging homeownership rate of 54 percent, Mayor Young stated the importance of increasing housing production that is affordable to middle income residents that want to live and work in the same part of the city.

"The strategy that all of us need to focus our efforts toward is to have people live and work in the same neighborhoods and create a climate of enticement for people to live in the heart of the city," said Mayor Young.

"What we need to really focus on is combining commercial and residential development. Increased commercial revitalization in our downtown area should compliment our affordable housing strategies," added James Steele, Housing Administrator for the Department of Housing & Neighborhood Development for the city of Augusta.

CitiesFirst™ had a strong interest in coming to Augusta because of Mayor Young's continued commitment to the issues of affordable housing and economic development. Mayor Young was responsible for creating the Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (ANIC), which has become a national model for urban housing development. ANIC plays a critical role in financing, housing, economic development, tourism and biomedical initiatives in the metro area. In the past year, ANIC has established a remarkable record of pursuing housing and economic development, bringing important innovations to this market and achieving outstanding results.

"As mayors across the country work to find innovative and practical housing solutions it is essential to have public/private partnerships like CitiesFirst™ leading a national discussion in cities across the country about the issue of affordable housing, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this discussion," said Mayor Young.

Participants from the roundtable included: City of Augusta, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Georgia Office, 30901 Development Corporation, Herbert Homes, ARC Public Works, Community Mental Health, East Central Georgia Homeownership Partnership, Augusta Housing Authority, Century 21, Harris Family Foundation, Antioch Ministry, Wachovia Mortgage, Promise Land CDC and Augusta Mortgage.