[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING FIFTH WARD COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT CORP. AND BANK UNITED 
        FOR SELECTION AS OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY INVESTMENT AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 1997

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Fifth Ward 
Community Redevelopment Corp. and Bank United for their selection as 
one of the Nation's outstanding community redevelopment partnerships. 
They are being recognized this week by the Social Compact as recipients 
of the Outstanding Community Investment Award. This award is given to 
partnership-based organizations and individuals for exceptional 
achievement and leadership serving and investing in the future of 
American neighborhoods. This partnership is the first Texas-based 
initiative to be recognized by the Social Compact, a coalition of 
leaders from throughout the financial services industry who have joined 
forces to increase investment in America's lower income neighborhoods.
  The Fifth Ward is one of Houston's poorest neighborhoods, but it has 
a rich history and great potential. Home to the late Barbara Jordan and 
Mickey Leland, as well as George Foreman, Joe Sample, and the Jazz 
Crusaders, it is located in close proximity to downtown. Once the 
vibrant heart of Houston's oldest and largest African-American 
community settled by freed slaves at the end of the Civil War, it is a 
community with a rich heritage and an indelible tradition of strong 
religious leadership. But hard numbers conjure up a different image: 
median income is just $7,600; 62 percent of the residents live in 
poverty; and 800 vacant lots and abandoned houses litter the community.
  In this environment of opportunity and challenge, the Fifth Ward CDC 
and Bank United Partnership has ventured to help the community reclaim 
its heritage as a neighborhood of choice. In an area that has not seen 
any new construction in 50 years, the partnership has built 77 new 
homes. Their strategy has been to construct high quality homes that 
will attract both middle-class families drawn to the neighborhood's 
rich history and downtown location, while also creating affordable home 
ownership opportunities so minimum-wage families can begin building an 
equity stake in the community. The Fifth Ward CDC has established their 
own construction company, which has allowed them to limit housing cost 
to about $10,000 below what commercial developers would charge. It has 
also provided 27 full-time jobs for neighborhood residents.
  The Fifth Ward CDC and Bank United have formed a truly exceptional 
partnership that can serve as a model for other communities. They 
should be commended for their vision, their readiness to take risk, and 
most of all, for investing resources to help this community reclaim its 
heritage as a vibrant neighborhood of choice.

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