THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505200373
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ONLEY LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Closing costs. That's all the people of New Road need to buy into the American dream.
For New Road's working poor - families who have lived on a soggy strip of land outside Exmore for generations - the dream is ambitious. They hope to build homes with indoor plumbing where decayed rental shacks and outhouses now stand.
They want to build a community center, a chapel, a day-care center, playgrounds.
For months, the people of New Road have been negotiating with two local landlords to buy the land the neighborhood occupies, plus an adjoining field. The McAuley Institute, a Catholic charity founded by the Sisters of Mercy, has agreed to lend them $338,000 to do just that. But they need to raise $10,000 for closing costs in the next 12 days.
``We're openly asking for help,'' said Ruth Wise, a leader in the New Road Community Development Group. She spoke Friday morning to bankers and local leaders who had gathered at the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank in Onley to hear the group's presentation.
The $10,000 is needed to buy fire and liability insurance and title insurance and to cover recording fees for the land deal. New Road neighbors have sponsored bake sales and other events recently to raise the money for closing costs. In their poor community, they have raised $1,085. But time is running out.
``This is not just about indoor toilets,'' Fred Gunter, president of the New Road Community Development Group, said to the bankers. ``There's a better life at stake. We want to own our own selves.''
The development group first organized in 1992 to campaign for a sewer system in Exmore. That effort failed, but the group decided not to give up. They developed a plan to replace or rehabilitate 92 of the 100 homes in their neighborhood. State officials have kept in close contact with plans and have supported the project.
Before it can build new homes, however, New Road needs a sewer system. Northampton County and the town of Exmore have submitted grant applications for $1.7 million to build the water and sewer infrastructure. But before that can happen, the community needs to buy the land. Enter the McAuley Institute, which stepped in with a $338,000, low-interest loan to buy 30 acres on both sides of Route 13, including a field behind Masten's hardware store.
``We're doing, really, what we like to do,'' said Kathy Tyler, loan fund manager for the McAuley Institute, which is based in Silver Spring, Md. ``We're hoping to be the first money in that triggers other resources.''
The institute will recoup its investment when the New Road group sells homes, or lots for homes, in the renovated neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Margaret Washington and others in New Road hope the larger community will join the cause. ``We want to prove that when poor people stand on their feet and make their voices heard,'' she said, ``they can make a difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
IF YOU WANT TO HELP
To help cover the closing costs for the New Road land, send a
tax-deductible donation to: New Road Community Development Group,
P.O. Box 1296, Exmore, VA 23350.
by CNB