LISC San Diego awarded $200,000 grant from Bank of America to spur economic development along El Cajon Commercial Corridor

Ricardo Flores (LISC San Diego Executive Director) and Rick Bregman (Bank of America’s San Diego Market President)

SAN DIEGO – LISC San Diego has been named as the 2018 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® grant recipient for San Diego. As part of its locally-oriented role, LISC convenes coalitions of nonprofits and small business owners to create and expand small businesses, create and retain jobs, and affordable housing opportunities.

Officially known as the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the nonprofit was selected for its grassroots plans to revitalize the Little Saigon quarter in City Heights, which includes infrastructure improvements, trees, lighting, small business microloans to grow its commercial district from within, the preservation of cultural assets and housing affordability.  

San Diego’s economic growth in recent years has had an unfortunate impact on many hyper-local neighborhoods with lower income households and small businesses experiencing displacement due to rising property costs and increased gentrification.

Several community-based organizations convened by LISC have been working to preserve the eight-block Little Saigon quarter along El Cajon Boulevard, which was designated as a community and cultural district by the city of San Diego in 2013 and is comprised of a highly diverse mix of Asian, African and Latino cultures and immigrants.

For example, according to Su Nguyen, chairman of the Little Saigon Business District, an estimated three out of four businesses within the Little Saigon Cultural District are Vietnamese-owned.

LISC plans to use funding from the $200,000 Neighborhood Builders® award to hire additional staffing and fund two critical elements necessary for its corridor revitalization initiative, as follows:

1. an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District that functions as a grassroots Tax Increment Financing (TIF) vehicle with local stakeholder approval to collect future gains in property taxes to fund needed improvements essential to the safety of the corridor; and
2. an Environmental Impact Report that will be applied to the entire district instead of the typical project by project approach, thereby providing developers cost-savings and certainty about the opportunities and requirements, such as density, use, aesthetic, and architectural guidelines. 

Said LISC San Diego executive director Ricardo Flores: “Our gratitude in receiving this honor is eclipsed only by our knowledge that these resources will generate added opportunity and prosperity to the burgeoning neighborhood of Little Saigon, its businesses and residents. By working closely together, we will focus our efforts on energizing this vibrant community’s authentic spirit and history.”

As a Neighborhood Builders® awardee, LISC will also receive a year of leadership training for the Executive Director and an emerging leader at the organization, along with access to a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and the opportunity to access additional capital to expand their impact.

Said Rick Bregman, Bank of America’s San Diego Market President, in making the award: “By taking a holistic approach to neighborhood revitalization through small business development, infrastructure financing and help with zoning, codes and other municipal processes, LISC has helped create economic sustainability for San Diego neighborhoods and families.”

He added: “By deploying our philanthropic capital through the Neighborhood Builder award, we can help LISC’s exciting vision for the Little Saigon quarter become reality for future visitors to enjoy and appreciate.”

Over the course of Neighborhood Builders’ 15 years, Bank of America has partnered with 22 nonprofits in San Diego by investing a total of $4.4 million to help address issues fundamental to improving economic mobility for individuals and families, such as workforce development, community development, and basic needs.

About Bank of America:
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About LISC San Diego:
LISC San Diego’s mission is to forge resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across San Diego – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families by providing access to expand economic opportunity in low-income communities. Founded in 1991, LISC San Diego's strategic approach as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) focuses on economic development and affordable housing.

Media contacts:
Ricardo Flores
Executive Director
LISC San Diego
619-541-8017
rflores@lisc.org

Rick Schloss
RS Communications (for Bank of America)
619-708-6007
rickschlosspr@aol.com