Our History

In 1983 Neighborhood Housing Services, in cooperation with the City of Gainesville, began a revitalization effort in the community that is now known as the Stephen Foster Neighborhood. This revitalization effort had many facets, first and foremost was to create a sense of community. Neighborhood signs were posted, community events planned, and neighborhood cleanups scheduled. Recently there have been creek clean ups and Neighborhood Night Out walks to unify us with our neighbors.

Since property owners have a more vested interest in the neighborhood, programs were developed and funded to assist families with the purchase of first homes in the neighborhood. Over the years since the first family moved into the neighborhood, this program changed the face of this community. An area that was made up primarily of rental homes is now a diverse community of homeowners and long term leasers.

Currently we have received a $15,000 grant as part of the City of Gainesville Neighborhood Planning Program. They only select one or two neighborhoods per year for this grant money and neighborhood participation is the cornerstone of this project. If you would like to be included in working on this project please contact us.