Nearly 200 NeighborWorks® network organizations celebrated NeighborWorks Weeks this year with activities, groundbreakings, block parties and more. Below, please find stories and snapshots from some of the gatherings, with more to come.
Building a community for seniors in Las Vegas
Nevada HAND, a NeighborWorks network organization in Las Vegas, Nevada, broke ground last week – NeighborWorks Week – on its largest development for older Americans to date.
The development, known as Serene Pines, will bring 281 affordable apartment homes to South Las Vegas.
“Breaking ground is my second favorite day, next to Key Day,” said Wally Swenson, vice president of Corporate Affairs at Nevada HAND. (Key Day is when his organization is able to hand over house keys to a brand new homeowner.) 
“This is going to be the largest Nevada HAND, high-quality, energy-efficient home for seniors we have,” Swenson said, adding that NeighborWorks was foundational in the success of the project.
NeighborWorks Capital, a CDFI that works solely with network organizations, provided a $6 million acquisition loan to Nevada HAND to acquire 6.5 acres where the organization will construct Serene Pines. Since 2014, NeighborWorks Capital has extended seven loans to Nevada HAND. “We are pleased to continue to partner with them in their mission to improve the lives of low-income individuals by providing affordable housing solutions and supportive resident services,” said Jim Peffley, CEO of NeighborWorks Capital, adding that the organization has transformed lives across Nevada. “Serene Pines will provide hundreds of seniors with an affordable place to call home in a market where demand for senior housing continues to grow. At NeighborWorks Capital, we believe organizations like Nevada HAND should have access to the capital and resources they need to meet their communities’ most pressing challenges. This project reflects the power of the NeighborWorks network: combining local leadership, trusted community relationships and strategic capital to create lasting impact for residents.”
Said Swenson, “This project really illustrates what partnership is all about, combining local dedication with powerful national support to really lift local communities. I think it’s a perfect example of collaboration at its finest.”
Serene Pines will provide a safe, affordable place to live for hundreds of seniors, and will also have the amenities that let those seniors age in place, including a dog part for their pets.
“It’s an amenity that makes sense to have,” Swenson said.
Jodie Wilkerson, Nevada HAND’s assistant director of communications, said the dog parks also add green space to the community, and added that the project as a whole received a warm welcome from those living nearby – not always the case for affordable housing.
Nevada HAND has 23 senior communities in its portfolio.
Wilkerson said that amounts to about 3,000 older adults; the rest of the properties serve 2,300 youth and working adults.
“It starts with need,” Swenson said. “We need independent family communities and we need senior communities. “If we could scale the finances and pop up a couple of thousand units tomorrow, we’d be full. The need is there.”
The groundbreaking brought out local dignitaries, including U.S. Rep Susie Lee and representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen Jacky Rosen and U.S. Sen Catherine Cortez Masto and Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, along with assembly members and funders.
The project received $20.6 million from Clark County, the single largest investment from the Welcome Home Community Housing Fund. Other funding cam from Wells Fargo, Freddie Mac, Stonehenge Capital and the State of Nevada’s Housing Division.
Swenson said the development hopes to welcome new residents into the building by summer of 2028.
Wilkerson said that every day – not just during NeighborWorks Weeks – she is able to go into Nevada HAND’s communities and see strong buildings and residents thriving, raising their kids, volunteering and living their lives. “It’s the best possible impact we can hope for.”
Building community in Boston
“They like blue,” said Veronica Truell, who works with Community Building & Engagement at NeighborWorks Housing Solutions (NHS).
She’s talking here about ice cream, the centerpiece for two NeighborWorks Weeks activities at the Boston-area network organization. The “blue” flavor came in a cup and had bubblegum inside. By the end of the event, Truell said, “all of the kids had blue mouths.
“It was great,” she added. “Parents brought the kids down and people started talking with each other, which is what we wanted to see.”
One thing led to another. Truell talked to residents about other events the community wanted. By the time the last drips of ice cream were gone, two residents, both educators, had planned a youth game night where they hoped to also talk to the youth about their hopes, dreams and aspirations.
“That’s the sort of thing we want to see happen,” Truell said.
Her organization used both weeks during NeighborWorks Weeks to host activities. Along with two ice cream socials, they hosted two days of service, aiding residents who needed help with social security, or who needed to pay back rent or utilities. They hosted a lunch-and-learn, letting the community know about NHS and NeighborWorks. They received proclamations from government officials. Her nonprofit also held a celebration at Happii Bellii, a restaurant that leases space in the bottom of a residential buildings. A planting activity will take place next week.
It’s all part of empowering communities. “When Dorothy Richardson started this, she was empowering voices,” Truell said, referring to the Pittsburgh woman who, together with her neighbors, brought together people from her neighborhood, from banks, from the county and from the government to help revitalize her community. Richardson helped form the model local organization for what would eventually become NeighborWorks America.
NeighborWorks Salt Lake hosts first Community Land Trust groundbreaking
NeighborWorks Salt Lake broke ground during NeighborWorks Weeks for Maltair Lanes Townhomes, a new development that will lead to homeownership on the west side of the city.
The land was once home to bowling lanes and a swimming pool. By March of 2027, the land could be home to 13 new families or individuals who will own the two- and three-bedroom townhomes as part of a community land trust. NeighborWorks Salt Lake will maintain ownership of the land; the individual owners will own the homes, earning equity while still keeping them affordable for the next family.
During the groundbreaking, board members recalled how they used to visit the property when it was set aside for recreational use. But the land remained dormant for two decades until zoning codes made the new development possible.
“In a few months time, NeighborWorks Salt Lake will launch their second land trust development,” said Shu Chen, senior relationship manager from NeighborWorks America.
Representatives from the governor’s office attended the groundbreaking, along with the mayor and staff and board members.
“This groundbreaking is really opening a new chapter both for Salt Lake City and NeighborWorks Salt Lake,” said Bryce Garner, CEO of NeighborWorks Salt Lake.
Housing costs have increased astronomically since the pandemic – both in Salt Lake and other places, putting homes out of reach for low and middle-income residents. Homes like this, that use the community land trust model, are one solution to that challenge, Chen said.
NeighborWorks Salt Lake is already providing homebuyer and education “so when the buildings are ready, families will be ready to move in.”
Watch the video: NeighborWorks Salt Lake Maltair Lanes Townhomes Groundbreaking
