The Community Revitalization Unit provides information, technical support and technical assistance for communities and organizations within communities that wish to implement projects, programs and activities that will be a positive influence for that community.

The projects, programs, and activities should identify or address a specific social, economic, or environmental issue that is a concern for the majority of the residents within that community. The community should have a position on an issue that can be expressed as a written proposal to the City, and that offers some solution that the community can support.

Projects, programs and activities that have been undertaken in the past include: Community Youth Enterprise projects, Emergency Homeless Shelters, Community-based Economic Development Projects, Emergency Job Training Program for Welfare Recipients, Men's March Against Violence, and At Risk Youth Program.

For information contact the Office of Special Projects at 527-6264. Click here for forms.

Community Enterprise Development (CED) supports Community-Based Economic Development to provide opportunities for community revitalization and the economically disadvantaged through collaborative efforts among residents, nonprofit and other organizations. CED provides assistance in the development of sustainable community enterprises, programs, and activities that are consistent with local vision and values.

strategies are economic development strategies and/or projects that meet three conditions:

• Are consistent with community values and priorities
• primarily seed to benefit an economically disadvantaged constituency; and
• incorporate some element of community control.

CBED fosters sustainable development, an approach to economic development that asserts that the economic prosperity of a community is dependent upon the protection and promotion of its social and environmental assets.

• Grant Administration: Includes review of project proposals, preparation of subrecipient agreements, processing of payment requests, monitoring and evaluation of projects.
• Community Capacity Building & Technical Assistance: Initiates, develops, implements, monitors and evaluates needs of community members, organizations and businesses to implement CBED projects and programs.
• CBED Strategic Planning: Assists in the preparation of community-based economic development strategic plans, including the Empowerment Zone Application, EDA O`ahu Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, and EPA Regional Sustainable Development plans.
• Liaison With Funding Agencies: Coordinates CBED programs with other public and private agencies including HUD, EDA, EPA, ABC Fund and bank community reinvestment groups.
• Implement the O`ahu Enterprise Zones Program

The CBED Unit administers grants funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, that support community-based organizations with planning, developing, and implementing economic development projects that benefit low- to moderate-income individuals and communities. In addition, CED supports organizational and community capacity-building through the provision of training and technical assistance. Project examples include the Pacific Gateway Center Kitchen Incubator, Waipahu Festival Marketplace, Hawaii Fish Company, Hawaii Livestock Cooperative, the Samoan Service Providers Association Project - Business Service Center, and the Volunteer Legal Services of Hawai`i Project - Training/Technical Assistance.

On behalf of the City, the CED Unit administers the O`ahu Enterprise Zone Program, a joint effort between the City and State to stimulate business growth and job creation by offering tax and regulatory incentives to eligible businesses in designated areas. Enterprise zones have been designated in eligible portions of the North Shore, Koolauloa, Mililani Tech Park/Wahiawa, Central Oahu, Waianae and certain portions of the Urban Honolulu.

CED administers the City's Sustainable Island-Based Development Program, funded through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This Program has been used to support the development of a sustainability plan for the Ewa and North Shore regions of Honolulu, using a community-based process and focusing on capacity-building to enable local organizations to carry out sustainable development initiatives; preserve agriculture; protect the environment; and establish a sustainable economic base. Demonstration projects were funded following a feasibility analyses of specific community economic development projects.

Through a planning grant from the US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Office of Economic Development prepared and completed a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the Island of Oahu, upon which EDA's funding of an estimated $3.7 million in financial assistance awards was based. Eleven awards will be made directly to community-based groups to implement economic development projects on Oahu for fiscal years 2000 and 2001.