The Near East Side’s development partnership, Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT), is going through some changes, including new leadership and new stages of their plan’s implementation.
PACT, a collaboration between the City of Columbus, OSU, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and Near East Side stakeholders, announced David Cofer as their new executive director. He’ll replace Trudy Bartley, who’s held the position since 2012.
Cofer said his work on the South Side was similar to the responsibilities he’ll have at PACT. As managing director at Community Development for All People (CD4AP), Cofer assisted with the transition of programming from the South Side Settlement House to their organization, worked in affordable housing, health and wellness programming, and parent and family engagement. He wants to take this experience and the planning achieved during Bartley’s tenure, and execute PACT’s Blueprint for Community Investment.
While he’s not yet as familiar with the area as he was the South Side, he’s already worked with the same people across the city to achieve similar goals.
“Doing this work in the neighborhoods, we all came with our colleagues all across the city, whether it be the Near East Side, Weinland Park, Linden, Hilltop, Franklinton,” Cofer said. “We are aware of each other’s work, admiring patchwork from afar for some time now. So it was really the opportunity to do very similar work: working with communities, working with our neighbors, working with our residents to achieve a community that they aspire towards.”
For the Near East Side he said that means achieving a community that’s a “destination of choice.”
In the Blueprint, the current state of the Near East Side was evaluated and neighborhood collaborators were engaged. Business and commercial involvement is low, and residential and retail vacancies far surpass the City’s average.
The predominantly (82 percent) African-American community is comprised of a significantly greater number of people older than 55 and younger than 17, with 75 percent of children living in poverty. Only half of the residents occupy the workforce, and 60 percent rely on food stamps and Medicaid.
The Blueprint focuses on the preservation of the established African-American history and culture in the area, laying out 10 “visions and principles” that will make the Near East Side a destination of choice:
- The neighborhood is diverse, but anchored by the strong African-American heritage.
- Quality housing is available to people, regardless of income.
- The neighborhood is safe and perceived as safe.
- History is embraced through preservation of significant buildings and cultural assets.
- Health and wellness are embraced (i.e., presence of Ohio State east and new grocery store.
- The neighborhood becomes a destination for jazz, arts and entertainment, especially around the King Arts Complex.
- Educational standards are high and the schools meet the needs of existing residents and attract new ones.
- Residents and businesses take pride—ownership and responsibility—in maintaining their properties
- The neighborhood is physically connected to downtown and surrounding neighborhoods (via streets, corridors, sidewalks).
- New business, especially the small independently owned, thrive and offer employment opportunities for residents
“For me, the Blueprint document that was introduced in mid-2013 continues to serve as the north star and will provide the focus for what we do,” Cofer said. “It’s really just about building upon the awesome work that’s already been done and just really trying to take it to the next level.”
Discussions for PACT’s next steps will happen after Cofer’s first day on Monday, January 9.
For more information visit www.eastpact.org.