The Model Colonias Project: A New Mexico Success Story

Information by State  Print version   Typical Housing stock in the colonia of Vado Paving roads will allow school busses in to the colonia of Del Cerro, so children can be transported to school safely

Difficult conditions
According to 1999 figures, 33 percent of the families in Vado/Del Cerro live below the poverty level. 77 percent of the populations over 25 are not high school graduates, so families tend to survive on low wage employment at nearby dairies or truck stops. But Vado/Del Cerro also has a very active and involved group of partners committed to community improvement.

HUD Investment
To show what county, state, federal, and nonprofit partners can do together to improve the lives of colonia residents, HUD has funded a comprehensive, community-based planning process in Vado/Del Cerro. HUD funding is leveraging other federal and private sector investors to demonstrate how a U.S./Mexico Border colonias can be transformed into an economically and socially viable community.

Anticipated outcomes of the Model Colonia project

• A comprehensive plan that paves the way for public and private investment, leading to substantial improvement in living conditions.
  
• Elimination of unplanned, colonias-style growth. All new homes in the community will be required to meet basic housing and infrastructure standards.
  
• Enhanced coordination among federal, state, and local agencies.

Partners helping transform Vado/Del Cerro

Community Leaders. Vado/Del Cerro residents have taken ownership of the project and are actively involved. Centro Fuerza y Unidad, a grassroots organization, has been the driving force behind progress in Del Cerro for over
10 years. It currently receives HUD technical assistance so it can obtain a nonprofit designation.

Doña Ana Board of County Commissioners. The County has designated the Vado/Del Cerro Community as the initial Model Colonia for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Model Colonia Initiative. The County has also created a new Community Outreach Division within the Department of Health and Human Services and a special Coordinator to work specifically on colonias.

New Mexico State Legislature. Southern New Mexico Legislators have pledged to assist with the model colonias. In the 2004 Legislature, multiple funding bills for the Vado/Del Cerro Model Colonias Project were introduced.

Vado Water Mutual Domestic Association. As a nonprofit organization, the association has been active in the community of Vado since the 1960's.

Las Cruces-Doña Ana Housing Authority. This Public Housing Authority has committed to use the sales proceeds of existing Housing Authority units to purchase land for an 18-unit affordable housing pilot using self-help/alternative materials. Model colonias land has been purchased, and the development process has begun.

Gadsden Independent School District. GISD will be locating a new elementary school in the Model Colonias. Construction is slated to begin soon, and the school will open in fall 2005.

Additional partners such as Las Cruces Affordable Housing Inc. (a Community Housing Development Organization), New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, the Enterprise Foundation, USDA Rural Development and the Housing Assistance Council are contributing as well.