Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Senior Project Manager in the Office of Community Development Lori Santaniello joined this morning with Home City Development, Inc. (HCDI) at Elias Brookings Apartments (former site of Brookings School) to kick-off HCDI’s new Resident Tech Center initiative that was made possible in part through the Sarno administration’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
Mayor Sarno, State Representative Carlos Gonzalez, Tech Foundry CEO Tricia Canavan, Tech Foundry Tech Hub Director William Medina, HCDI Chief Philanthropy & Communications Officer as well as School Committee member Joesiah Gonzalez, HCDI Resident Programs Director Ramona Kirschenman, and HCDI Youth Leader and resident Joshua Valley shared remarks about the importance of investing in the future with programs like this Resident Tech Center initiative. Representatives from Union Capital and Liberty Bank also attended.
Home City Development was awarded $100,000 of ARPA funds towards the development of four tech centers for their residents and other community members at their residential properties. The ARPA grant was also used to provide digital literacy training and internet access to households in one of HCDI affordable housing developments. HCDI will administer a digital literacy program that will provide technology access and user trainings at the four “Tech Centers” located in community spaces.
Mayor Sarno states, “It is important that the residents of our City have access to internet, in a world that is reliant on the internet for communication, education, health, and financial aspects. The four tech centers, located in the Liberty Hill Townhouses, Chestnut Crossing, Bay Area Community Resource Center, and Brookings apartments are great additions, and will be utilized for group trainings, and childcare training, and have laptops, printers, desks, and Wi-Fi along with other useful tech resources. I am proud of my administration for their dedicated work to administer ARPA funding where it is most needed and continuing to move our City of Springfield in the right direction.”
The Mayor continued, “We were also proud to support Home City Development’s Gemini Townhomes project with an ARPA award. We see today that Home City continues to invest in more than just housing, but they are investing in futures and communities, by working to provide home ownership opportunities, tools to succeed in an increasingly digital world, and creating safe spaces for residents to learn and get the help and assistance they need as they learn life changing skills, in turn creating opportunities and building generational strength/wealth.”
