|
A quiet revolution is now taking place in Brownsville, Texas . one house at a time. It involves a partnership between the nonprofit and private sectors to provide capital for affordable housing and to upgrade living conditions in the colonias.
Triggering this success story is a vital federal law - the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
Colonia Upgrades
Most Texans take basic plumbing, running water and electricity for granted in their homes. But not Martin Camarillo, a resident of the Cameron Park Colonia, the largest and oldest colonia in Texas. Such commodities are rare in these unincorporated subdivisions along the border, where many families reside in Third World living conditions. Mr. Camarillo, his disabled wife and three children lived in a dilapidated one-bedroom shack.
Mr. Camarillo applied for assistance to the nonprofit Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB) under its Colonia Redevelopment Program. Working hand-in-hand with a six-bank alliance known as the multibank Greater Brownsville Community Development Corporation (GBCDC), the Camarillos today are proud owners of a three-bedroom, one bathroom wood framed house.
"I did not have the money, or any idea how to start," Mr. Camarillo said. "But thanks to the CDC of Brownsville I am not wasting money on repairs and the house is warm at night and everything is new."
Homeownership dreams While living conditions were much less bleak for Noe and Guadalupe Martinez of Brownsville, they were still trapped in a "Catch 22" situation. The Martinez couple and their three daughters had been renting small apartments in Brownsville and paying higher rents each year. Their dream was to own their own home and raise their daughters in a safe neighborhood. "We knew that we had to own a house because renting was too expensive," said Mrs. Martinez. However, their combined income was not enough to qualify for a conventional mortgage. Thus they turned to the nonprofit CDCB as their last hope. Like the Camarillos, the Martinez family story has a happy ending. Through the efforts of CDBC and the multibank partnership, they qualified for a mortgage and were able to purchase a new home.
The Camarillo and Martinez stories are not isolated ones. The Colonia Redevelopment Program has completed 85 homes over the past three years, with the GBCDC's six banks - Chase Texas, International Bank of Commerce, Mercantile Bank, National Cooperative Bank, Texas State Bank, and Bank of America - providing $250,000 for interim construction through a revolving unsecured line of credit. The program targets families earning less than 50 percent of the area's median income.
In turn, the Affordable Housing Loan Program has been backed by $6 million in financial support from the banks. In eight years, the program has built 600 new houses and provided the mortgage financing for the families at or below 80 percent of the area median income.
As Don Currie, Executive Director of CDC of Brownsville notes, "CRA is important for it reminds banks of their need to reinvest in the community. It allows banks to think more creatively in the financing of our low-income projects."
Adds Manuel Casanova, Jr., Executive Vice President, International Bank of Commerce (IBC), "CRA requires banks to serve their entire markets. With Cameron County having 67 percent of the low- and moderate-income census tracts, it is important that we support activities that provide home-ownership and affordable housing for our entire urban and rural areas."
Consumers Union Southwest Office
