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Lofgren Announces Grant Announcement To San Jose Conservation Corps

November 6, 2002

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awards San Jose program with $700,000

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-SJ) today announced a $700,000 Youthbuild Implementation grant for the San Jose Conservation Corps. Today’s announcement will provide funding to train 35 individuals for on-site construction skills by working to build 100 new homes in East San Jose. The San Jose Conservation Corps applied for the grant and was similar to a grant received in 1997. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

“This is important funding, and I am pleased the federal government has chosen to invest in East San Jose,” said Lofgren. “When we invest in our communities, we give people skills to earn a living and we improve our community. This is a real win-win for San Jose.”

Specifically, Youthbuild participants will be involved with construction of a new low-income 100-unit apartment complex in East San Jose. Participants will learn construction skills including all aspects of the construction process from foundations through interior finishes. Skill areas include foundation preparation, forming, pouring and finishing; framing; plumbing; sheetrock interior and exterior painting; roofing; insulation; interior finishes, hardware applications, and landscaping. An important aspect of the on-site training will be the Safety Program. SJCC has an extensive safety program in place, which includes a twice-weekly Safety Tailgate meeting to prevent accidents and injuries. To date, not one of the YouthBuild trainees has been injured on the job.

Youthbuild will build the Roberts Avenue Family Apartments, 100 new low-income family apartments located in East San Jose. The project will feature apartments in a mix of 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom units. These apartments will be for families earning less than 60% of median income. The project will consist of walk-up, garden style apartments with surface parking, a central laundry room and an equipped playground for children. All units will have fully equipped gas kitchens, heating and air conditioning and private balconies or enclosed patios.

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