Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

funded community programs, including a jointventure educational project with San Diego StateUniversity (SDSU), a community policing program,an innovative low-interest home loan program, and acommunity service program.The Village Townhomes, completed in September 2003, are located in theheart of the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego. The townhomesrepresent the first major housing development by Price Charities in CityHeights. (Source: Price Charities).Developing Market Creek PlazaThe third project highlighted in this profile is SanDiego’s Market Creek Plaza project, which hasthoughtfully and deliberately involved residents asleaders and partners in neighborhoodtransformation. Market Creek Plaza is the first phaseof a larger 45-acre mixed-use “Village” that will bedeveloped through a partnership with localneighborhood planning groups and in coordinationwith the city of San Diego’s new redevelopmentprogram, the City of Villages. Market Creek Plaza islocated in the area sometimes referred to as theDiamond neighborhoods: ten contiguousneighborhoods named for the city-designatedDiamond Business Improvement District. Some88,000 residents live in the Diamond and speakmore than 15 languages. While the majority of thepopulation is African American and Latino, theDiamond is home to many groups: among them,Laotian, Samoan, Filipino, and Somali. The area hasa median family income lower than the citywideaverage. Nearly a quarter of the population surviveson less than $15,000 annually.Like many urban neighborhoods and communities ofcolor, the Diamond has experienced decades of underinvestment.A 1998 market study showed the area wasunderserved by over 400,000 square feet of retail spaceand was experiencing over $60 million in retail“leakage.” Nonetheless, the community possessessignificant assets. Community institutions include theMalcolm X Library and Performing Arts Center,Tubman-Chavez Multicultural Center, andElementary Institute of Science. The Diamondfeatures a strong faith community, a strategic regionallocation, a high percentage of homeownership, and atradition of resident involvement in community issues.The first phase in the development of Market CreekPlaza extends over ten-acres on a property that oncehoused an aerospace factory. Both a commercial andcultural center, this phase of the developmentincludes a large grocery store, ethnic restaurants, afitness center, and an open-air amphitheater. Anoutdoor public art collection comprised of mosaics,totems, and murals in combination with thearchitecture of the surrounding buildings reflects theartistic traditions of the neighborhood’s diverseethnic and cultural mix. This resident-led work hasbeen supported by the Jacobs Family Foundation andSan Diego Neighborhood Funders (SDNF).These before and after images show the development of Market CreekPlaza, a 20-acre commercial and cultural center in the DiamondNeighborhoods of San Diego (Source: Jacobs Family Foundation).Funder InterestEstablished in 1975, The San Diego Foundation wasintended to be a charitable resource for the entireregion. Currently, the Foundation awards more than$47 million in competitive and donor-advised grantsannually. In response to rapid demographic andeconomic changes in the region, the Foundation hassought to align its priorities for grantmaking withorganizations making substantive contributions toimprove communities for the long-term. The boardof governors undertook an extensive communityLIVABLE NEIGHBORHOODS/STRONG REGIONSPart III: Section 2: Making All Neighborhoods Stable, Healthy, and Livable as Building Blocks for a Strong Region 84