The Matthew Henson HOPE VI Project, is a federally-funded grant project that rebuilt the outdated Matthew Henson Homes. The public housing community, which was initially constructed in 1941, is located in the HOPE VI Special Redevelopment Area, between 7th and 15th avenues, Grant and Pima streets within the Central City South community, a part of City Council District 8. The project began in 2001 with an initial $35 million federal HOPE VI grant provided through HUD and has now exceeded $110 million, thanks to public, private and non-profit financial and in-kind support from various partners involved in the revitalization effort. The Matthew Henson HOPE VI Project is the first HOPE VI Project within Maricopa County to provide Homeownership Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE) through the federal grant program. The city of Phoenix has received a second HOPE VI Project grant to rebuild the Krohn West Apartment community located at 16th Avenue and Maricopa Street.
The primary goal of the HOPE VI Project is to revitalize neighborhoods by creating a mixed-income community, helping residents move toward self-sufficiency through job training and placement services and creating long-term investments in the community.
The Master Developer for the Matthew Henson HOPE VI project is McCormack, Baron, Salazar, Inc. which has overseen the development process since 2002 and McCormack, Baron, Ragan facilitates the leasing process.
History of the Matthew Henson Property
Upon opening in 1941, the Matthew Henson Projects were the first public housing units in Arizona available for rent to the city's African American residents. The property was named after Matthew Henson, the African American explorer, who co-discovered the North Pole. The housing units were constructed with all of the modern conveniences of the era and were a model for other public housing units west of the Mississippi. The original red brick units maintained a courtyard design which encouraged the sense of community that still exists at the property today. The projects epitomized the, "It Takes A Village" concept while neighbors often watched their children play during visits with other residents. This close-knit community nurtured and developed some of Arizona's most notable community activists, politicians and school teachers.
