Choice Neighborhood Plan - West Ward Community Initiative

What is the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative?

In September 2020, the Greater Easton Development Partnership (GEDP), in partnership with the Easton Housing Authority (EHA) and the City of Easton, applied for and was awarded a HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant for the West Ward neighborhood of Easton. This application identified EHA’s N. Union Street Apartments property as a Target Housing Site for redevelopment. The grant award of $450,000 will help the GEDP, EHA , and the City of Easton address the clear inequities that exist within the community and build significant positive momentum for revitalization.

The HUD Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) employs a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. The program helps communities by revitalizing distressed public (and/or assisted) housing while investing and leveraging investments in:

Well-functioning services and public assets
High quality public schools/education programs
High quality early learning programs/services
Public transportation and mobility
Improved access to jobs

The CNI will ensure that current residents will be able to benefit from this transformation by preserving affordable housing or providing residents with the choice to move in to affordable and accessible housing in another existing neighborhood of opportunity.

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is focused on three core goals:

Housing: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the long term.

People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target developments and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents’ education, health and recreation, safety, employment, and mobility.

Neighborhood: Transform distressed neighborhoods into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

Status of this Project

The Final Plan was submitted to HUD at the end of January 2023, and can be seen below. Unfortunately, since this time, HUD has significantly cut the funding for this program. As such, while the GEDP is proud to have worked and continue working with the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, this page is maintained to track current progress and inspire planning for future endeavors.