Five Jamestown neighborhoods will be collectively working on exterior home improvements in order to build a stronger community.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation has selected the neighborhood clusters who will be participating in the 2018 Renaissance Block Challenge. Mary Maxwell, JRC neighborhood project associate, said the JRC Neighborhood Committee has selected Forest Heights, Royal and McDaniel avenues, Lakeview Avenue, Prospect Street and Superior Street to participate in the program.

Maxwell said there are a total of 54 property owners in the program, with 84 percent of them being new participants. The Renaissance Block Challenge encourages groups of neighbors to collaborate on exterior improvements to their properties in order to boost confidence in Jamestown’s neighborhoods and inspire others to reinvest.

“I am very pleased with the decisions made by the Neighborhood Committee for this year’s selection of 2018 RBC clusters,” Maxwell said. “This year was very competitive. There were so many good, active and deserving neighborhoods that applied for the grant. I wish there were enough funds to award all of them.”

Maxwell said one of the most active and involved Jamestown neighborhoods is Forest Heights. She said the neighborhood is a well-defined area beginning at the intersection of Forest Avenue and Washington Street and continuing up the street, and participates in many community and neighborhood improvement activities. She added they annually are involved with Hands on Jamestown, scheduled for May 19, and a longtime participant in National Night Out, this year Forest Heights entered 10 conjoining properties on Prather Street. Guided by two previous participants, eight of the 10 properties are new to the RBC grant.

“Creating partnerships between neighbors is a valuable part of Forest Height’s sense of identity,” said Collin Hayes, cluster leader. “Going forward we plan to continue our neighborhood association meetings and joint participation in civic activities while actively recruiting new members.”

Maxwell said the Royal and McDaniel avenues is known as Park West, which is a neighborhood that has developed on the west side of Jamestown and is known for their “Every-Odd-Year Wild Westside Block Sale,” along with their care and upkeep of the “Rose Garden” across from Brigiotta’s on Fairmount Ave. She said a cluster of 11 developed on Royal and McDaniel avenues, with seven of those properties being rental units, which represents the largest number of rentals in one cluster in the history of the Renaissance Block Challenge .

“The Rose Garden is located at the western gate of Jamestown, the first thing people see coming into our city and part of our neighborhood,” said Debbie Basile, cluster leader. “It is a welcoming sight as you enter Jamestown.”

The newest cluster to develop along Lakeview Avenue chose the name “Historic Lakeview” for their group of 10, said Maxwell. Lead by Stacy Gulino, newly returned to the area, the cluster participants plan to continue the already well established neighborhood activities and pride building.

“My partner, Guy Beeson, and I are first-time homeowners,” Gulino said. “We both have much pride in our neighborhood and would like to preserve the charm and beauty of it. It has been a fun experience knocking on doors and speaking with our neighbors about the love we share for our neighborhood and community.”

Maxwell said Joe Camarata will tell everyone who will listen, “We have the best neighbors.” Camarata is the cluster leader for a developing neighborhood named “The Southside Prospect Group.” She said with the majority of this cluster located on Prospect Street, south of Cole Avenue, this is an up and coming neighborhood. Their first block party was held three years ago and they had so much fun, two block parties are planned for this year. She added there is also Civil War Memorial Marker in a lot off Prospect Street, which the cluster embraces and sees to its up keep.

“We want to set an example of how great neighborhoods should look, act and feel,” Camarata said.

“The Middle Superiors” is the fifth cluster in the Renaissance Block Challenge program this year, Maxwell said. She said the cluster is led by Lucy Miraglia, a longtime resident, and Jeanie Shiffer, her “first lieutenant,” 13 properties are included in this cluster, which is the entire block located between Newland and Hazeltime avenues. She added that people can often hear the sound of bag pipes and drums echoing through the neighborhood.

“One of our neighbors plays the drums with the 96th Highlanders Pipes and Drum band,” Miraglia said. “Every Wednesday morning she will practice with one of the pipers. The neighbors enjoy listening to the music and the sound of the pipes and drums draws people from other neighborhoods.”

Last month, eight neighborhoods submitted pre-applications, with 83 property owners applying for the program. Maxwell said the JRC has around $100,000 for the program this year, which means not all neighborhood clusters that applied for the program could be selected. Funding for the Renaissance Block Challenge program is provided by the John Alfred and Oscar Johnson Memorial Trust, with support from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation and The Lenna Foundation.

For 2018, each property owner selected to participate in the Renaissance Block Challenge is eligible for a match up to $2,000 to facilitate their projects. Aside from matching grant funding, participating homeowners have access to discounts from sponsoring hardware stores and garden centers as well as discounts on coordinated purchasing of materials, services and design. In addition, the following businesses provide special discounts and services to Renaissance Block Challenge participants: B&L Wholesale Supply, Brigiotta’s Greenhouse and Garden Center, Chautauqua Brick, Craig’s Landscaping, Everydays True Value, Kingsview Paving and Excavating, LaBella Associates, LaMar Seamless Gutters, Mike’s Nursery and Tactical Tree Services.

City residents who wanted to participate in the Renaissance Block Challenge program needed to form a neighborhood cluster with a minimum of five property owners that could have included homeowners, landlords and businesses. In the neighborhood applications, participants outline exterior improvements they wished to complete and skills they could bring to projects in their cluster. Projects that can receive funding through the program include painting; porch repair; soffit repair; sidewalk repair; mailboxes; exterior lighting; front-yard landscaping; front doors/windows; driveways; driveway aprons; and gutters.

Since 2011, 35 neighborhoods have participated in the JRC’s Renaissance Block Challenge, with almost 350 property owners investing more than $975,000 in exterior improvements and repairs. This year will be the last for the current format of the Renaissance Block Challenge. In 2019, the JRC will start Renaissance Block Challenge 2.0.

Following the commission of the Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy report done by czb LLC in 2017, who originally did the city’s Neighborhood Revitalization Plan in 2010, JRC officials have decided to concentrate their neighborhood building efforts on four areas of the city located in transitional zones between strong and weak housing markets. One area is in the northside of the city around Lakeview Avenue area along North Main Street; the second area is the western gateway around Fairmount, Hall and Livingston avenues; the third area is located around Hazeltine/Forest avenues; and the fourth area being around Allen Park and UPMC Chautauqua WCA along Foote Avenue.

In each focus area, JRC officials will start the new Renaissance Block Challenge 2.0, which will be a five-year commitment to aggressively abate or remove blighted properties; prioritized street maintenance and tree planting; and have targeted code enforcement. JRC officials are hoping to partner with the city; Chautauqua Opportunities Inc.; CODE; CHRIC; the Chautauqua County Land Bank; and Habitat for Humanity on the new Renaissance Block Challenge program.