Newtown Revitalization Earns National Award

Over the last few years Newtown is beginning to get a new look, and those efforts are being recognized through a national award.

Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota will be presented with the Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award by the National Community Development Association (NCDA) during a ceremony Feb. 1 in Washington. 

The award recognizes the efforts by the county and city to work with residents and community organizations to achieve a "holistic change in the Newtown Neighborhood."

Projects include:

• ;
• Robert Taylor Community Center;
• Newtown Training Center;
• commercial storefront improvements;
• King Stone and St. Monica apartment redevelopments;
• Fredd "Glossie" Atkins Park at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Washington Court;
• and playground and drainage improvements. 

"This award recognizes the tremendous progress Sarasota County and the city of Sarasota have made to revitalize the Newtown area," said Carolyn Mason, chairwoman of the County Commission. "These improvements address the needs of our residents for high-quality, safe housing, provide facilities for recreation and community events, and improve the community's infrastructure. The award also is a tribute to all of the community organizations that served as partners in these projects."

The county and city made more than $60 million in improvements in Newtown, using funds that included a $23 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

The NCDA established the Audrey Nelson Community Development Achievement Award to recognize outstanding uses of the Community Development Block Grant Program and partnerships between local governments and nonprofit organizations to assist low- and moderate-income persons. Audrey Nelson was the first Deputy Executive Secretary of NCDA.

The NCDA is a non-partisan national nonprofit membership organization that represents local governments which administer federally supported community, economic development and affordable housing programs.