ECGRA awards $350,000 in grants to spur neighborhood renewal, combat blight
The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority awarded nearly $400,000 in grants to two boroughs and two organizations Wednesday in an effort to combat neighborhood blight.
The grants, part of the 2023 Renaissance Block Grant program, were awarded to the Bayfront Eastside Taskforce, which received $50,000, and Impact Corry and the boroughs of Edinboro and Union City, which each received $100,000.
ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood touted the grant program as a “strategic approach to neighborhood renewal,” one that will help put money “in the hands of homeowners to revitalize their houses.”
“The nonprofits and boroughs and the townships will work directly with residents one block at a time and try to fix up as many houses as possible, therefore creating a multiplier effect,” Wood said during a check presentation Wednesday at the First United Methodist Church in Union City.
“Through this 1-1 cash match program, ECGRA is helping to prevent properties from becoming blighted and reverse any effects that have already started — working to boost neighborhoods, increase market value of homes, and improve the municipal tax base,” he added.
Union City Borough Manager Cindy Wells said the borough has received a total of more than $400,000 in Renaissance Block Grant funding, allowing for more than $800,000 in exterior improvements to residential properties.
“We would never have had that much spent in the fight to prevent blight if it wasn’t for the Renaissance Grant Program,” she said. “We thank ECGRA for their investment to make improvements to Union City.”
Erie County Executive Brenton Davis, who appeared at the check presentation, called the grants a “step in the right direction.”
“It’s projects like this ― $350,000 ― that don’t seem to be impactful when you look at it countywide but in places like Union City, (these) investments are impactful,” he said.
The Renaissance Block Program is an anti-blight, neighborhood cooperation. The community and neighborhood investment program was designed to help improve Erie County neighborhoods through a block-by-block strategy that targets aging or neglected areas where neighbors are organized and willing to work together to combat blight, according to a ECGRA news release.
ECGRA awards $600,000 in grants: Erie's Black Wall Street, Impact Corry among recipients of ECGRA's 'Building a Better Future' grant
A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: ECGRA awards $350,000 in grants toward neighborhood renewal
