About Us
PURPOSE
The Colony Park/Lakeside Community Development Corporation (CP/LS CDC) was established and registered with the State of Texas in 2014. Its purpose is to represent the residents of the Colony Park/Lakeside Communities and those living in the five-census tracts in the HUD Sustainable Grant.
CP/LS CDC was established to assist the Colony Park Neighborhood Association (CPNA) with project planning and identifying the needs of the neighboring communities. The CP/LS CDC has emphasized the historical diversity of the area and works for inclusion in on-going projects, such as, the re-development of the EXPO Center and re-configuration of Walter E. Long Lake, the development of John Trevino Park, the construction of the Colony Park District Park, promotion of affordable housing, homeownership, as well as, participate in the 2008 Colony Park Master Plan Development.
CP/LS CDC is a 501(c) 3 Non-Profit Corporation. The Corporation acquired its federal tax status in 2019 and expanded its geographical boundaries to include all of Zip Code 78724. Originally, CP/LS CDC’s boundary encompassed the five-Census Tracts in the HUD Sustainable Communities Grant (22.01; 22.02; 22.08; 22.11; and 22.12).
Mission Statement
The CP/LS CDC represents the Northeast Austin/Travis County area as a voice for fairness and equity. The Corporation’s goal is to help prevent the exclusion of low-income, minority populations that are often neglected in new development projects, community and economic re-development. With development comes displacement, which the CP/LS CDC will work to mitigate. This Austin/Travis County area lacks amenities, such as, named grocery stores, doctor’s offices, workforce opportunities, large commercial or industrial businesses and or employment centers, as well as, service providers and transportation connectivity. The CDC’s Projects, unlike development of housing units, are focused primarily on stabilization, acquiring services, capacity-building and developing resources for the community.
Target Census Tract
Census Tract 22.02 has 75% owner-occupied households below 80% of MFI (Median Family Income). Eighty-one percent (81%) of homeowners have a disability and twenty-eight percent (28%) of owners are cost-burdened households. The Census Tract has more apartment dwellers than homeowners. Renters are below 80% MFI and 85% are income cost-burdened. This Census Tract has the highest single female-headed households in Austin/Travis County with 955 identified in 2019. This represents 72% of renter households. Census Tract 22.02 has a very large per capita of manufactured housing units, trailer parks, small room housing units, super saturation of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) apartments, and a high level of absentee landlords.
City of Austin Grant Funding
With grant funding from the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, CP/LS CDC will use the funds to set a comprehensive, house-to-house, neighborhood-to-neighborhood and door-to-door public engagement and community outreach contact plan. Our target population for this grant funding will be single female-headed households, homeowners and renters 55 plus years or older living below 60% MFI (most of the target population is 50% or below).
For residents located in Colony Park/Lakeside, conditions dictate direct involvement in a community where they can become trained, identify resources, have available credit counseling, debt management, health and wellness programs and participate in financial literacy, if needed. The Grant will provide training dollars for team leaders (Community Champions). Community Champions will be encouraged to promote the grant initiatives, involve neighbors and community residents to become active agents in distributing information, as well as, engaging in dialogue regarding needs and challenges. The budget will include expected cost of two public events, consultants, supplies and materials for on-going community participation, food, and a small, dedicated portion of grant dollars will be used to subsidize Team Leader’s travel outside of their immediate area.
Colony Park/Lakeside Community Development Corporation
Executive Committee
Margarita A. Decierdo
President
Christina Vasquez-Tapia
Vice-President
Pastor Roy Jones
Secretary
Board of Directors
Joe Tapia
Larry Jackson
Melvin G. Wrenn
Cheryl Bradley
Pliny Fisk
Advisors to the Board
John Hall, Associate Vice-President
Environmental Defense Fund
Clean Energy
Robert Notzon, Attorney
Notzon Law (Civil Rights)
Dr. Alex Garcia, RN Director
University of Texas at Austin
Andrew Johnson, Attorney
Johnson Petrov (Public Finance)
Stacy Dukes Rhone
Director, BigAustin
Tommy Warren
T Warren Investments (78724)
Gail Fisk
Center for Maximum Building Systems