 I'm Fort Worth City Councilwoman Gina Bivins, coming to you from Stop Six, the community where I grew up and where I live today. There is nothing that sparks excitement and optimism like the sights of new construction. And they're building new homes all over Stop Six, but it didn't happen overnight. It started with a spark from City Hall. Stop Six Capital was Fort Worth's first neighborhood improvement strategy project. The two and a half million dollar project initiative began in January of 2017, focusing on a small area with higher than average crime and lower than average income. Just over a year later, the changes are striking. It is a godsend. It is beautiful. We have not had this kind of development for our community and for the people who live in our community. The city has installed more than 300 new streetlights making the neighborhood safer at night. Security cameras installed at key locations have helped police make a rest. Before the city's initiative, vacant buildings like this one attracted vagrants are worse. The city has demolished 20 dilapidated buildings, cleaned up dozens of abandoned structures, and hauled away the debris making vacant lots ready for redevelopment. And developers like Mark Gentry are taking notice. He has half a dozen single-family homes under construction and plans to build 10 to 15 more by the end of 2018. I'm from this area and I just want to be able to give back a minority-owned business and I'm just looking to be a part of the acceleration of this growth of this community. Red growth includes not just increases in the number of building permits, but also the dollar value of investments in stop six. More than $9 million in 2017 and more than $7 million in the first half of 2018. Even though Neighborhood Services was in a lead role here, it required a lot of collaboration and coordination with other city departments, parks and recreation, co-compliance, planning, for instance, police department. All of these departments came together focused on making sure that stop six got the type of attention that it needed in order to create what you're seeing here today in terms of revitalization. Just take a look at some of the other improvements the city has made in stop six. 278 tons of brush and trash cleared from right of ways. 373 dead and hazardous trees removed. More than 180 tons of litter and illegal dump sites cleaned up. 7500 linear feet of new sidewalks make it safer for children to walk to school and parks. Dozens of new curb ramps make it easier for residents of all ages and abilities to get around. And Rosedale Plaza Park has a brand new playground, benches, picnic tables and walking trail. Together because of the city's initiative, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson visited the Martin Luther King Junior Community Center in stop six, announcing that center will become an envisioned center, the only one in Texas. Those centers will connect area families with the tools they need to become self-sufficient. HUD's mission is creating affordable housing. This ties into that mission and goal of creating home ownership opportunities for the American Dream. The city's neighborhood improvement strategy has helped make stop six a cleaner, safer community. And we continue working with the residents to keep that momentum going, but the beauty of the city's neighborhood improvement strategy is that it can be duplicated, building strong communities throughout Fort Worth. For more information, visit FortWorthTexas.gov slash neighborhoods. Gina Bivens, City of Fort Worth.