Left to Right: Director of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless John Parvensky, Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development Mercedes Márquez, Deputy Regional Administrator Dan Gomez.

On September 20, 2011 HUD Assistant Secretary Mercedes Márquez for Community Planning and Development visited Denver to host a personal conversation with partners at the Más a Tí Conference Room. She also held a press conference at a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) construction site of Renaissance West End Flats located on West Colfax Street.

Deputy Regional Administrator Dan Gomez welcomed the participants and introduced Assistant Secretary Márquez to the FCI Construction site. West End Flats is designed as a 101 mixed-use housing complex for low income and the chronically homeless developed by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development Mercedes Márquez.

Assistant Secretary Márquez described the benefits of jobs created and communities rebuilt through HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Along with City Officials and community partners, she described the progress of NSP across the nation. Denver's new Office of Economic Development Director Paul Washington and President of Colorado Coalition for Homeless John Parvensky explained how the projects are imperative in revitalizing the West Colfax neighborhood and Denver.

Assistant Secretary Marquez said, "This particular construction site, where we are standing today, is a perfect example of a Neighborhood Stabilization Program and has great potential in the greater Denver area. NSP is a positive step in the right direction for West Colfax and for rejuvenating the area along the new, major transit corridor. In addition to the development, 35+ construction jobs are being created at this project. This particular project is a perfect model for future developments and a step in the right direction to assist homeless persons in Denver."

Assistant Secretary Márquez recognized the West End Flats development as an example of what Project Rebuild proposes to accomplish by taking NSP to scale. Project Rebuild is part of President Obama's American Jobs Act.

All of the key stakeholders at the Project Rebuild Event.

Learn about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) online

Mercedes Márquez, featured guest in White House blog for Hispanic Heritage Month.

The White House and the Hispanic Community