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Washington
– U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
welcomed
U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development
Secretary
Ben
Carson
to
Spartanburg
to
meet
with
local
leaders
about
how
they
can
help
economically
distressed
communities.
Senator
Scott
and
Secretary
Carson
toured
locations
that
are
part
of
Spartanburg’s
revitalization
efforts,
which
include
public-private
partnerships
to
help
the
city’s
most
vulnerable
communities.
They
visited
Northside
Initiative
sites
Harvest
Park
Urban
Farm,
Monarch
Café,
and
Cleveland
Academy,
as
well
as
Drayton
Mills
Loft
and
students
at
the
Meeting
Street
Academy.
Senator
Scott
is
chairman
of
the
Senate
Banking
Subcommittee
on
Housing,
Transportation,
and
Community
Development.
To
learn
more
about
Senator
Scott’s
tour
with
Secretary
Carson,
check
out
the
article
below:
Ben
Carson,
Tim
Scott
tout
city’s
public-private
partnerships
Spartanburg
Herald-Journal
Bob
Montgomery
November
6,
2017
Meeting
Street
Academy
student
Daija
Downing
gathered
her
poise
before
handing
U.S.
Sen.
Tim
Scott
of
South
Carolina
a
framed
poem
as
a
gift
from
her
class,
thanking
him
for
his
support
of
the
five-year-old
school.
“How
old
are
you?”
Scott
asked
her.
“My
birthday
is
tomorrow,”
she
said.
Scott
then
gave
her
a
present
she’d
never
forget.
He
led
her
classmates
in
chorus
of
“Happy
Birthday.”
Downing,
who
turns
10
on
Tuesday,
blushed.
Meeting
Street
Academy
was
the
third
and
final
stop
on
a
visit
to
Spartanburg
Monday
by
South
Carolina’s
junior
senator
and
U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development
Secretary
Ben
Carson.
The
visit’s
purpose
was
to
meet
local
leaders
and
see
firsthand
the
successes
of
community
projects
that
have
involved
private
investment.
(…)
The
Northside
Initiative
includes
Victoria
Gardens,
an
80-unit
complex
being
converted
under
a
HUD
rental
assistance
program,
and
the
Brawley
Street
Model
Bock,
a
$10
million
mixed-income
housing
development
with
15
market-rate
and
five
affordable
multi-family
apartments,
medical
offices
and
commercial
space.
Harvest
Park,
also
includes
a
functioning
cafe
and
small
grocer
that
offers
fresh
fruit
and
vegetables.
(...)
Former
Spartanburg
Mayor
Bill
Barnet,
the
CEO
and
chairman
of
the
Northside
Development
Group,
was
among
those
who
met
with
Carson
and
Scott.
“The
senator,
who
has
spent
a
good
bit
of
time
here,
understands
what
we’ve
been
able
to
accomplish,”
Barnet
said.
“This
is
a
unique
opportunity
by
shining
a
light
that
not
only
helps
our
community,
but
helps
others.”
(…)
At
Meeting
Street
Academy,
Scott
and
Carson
told
third-
and
fourth-graders
they
grew
up
in
difficult
circumstances.
Both
encouraged
the
youngsters
to
read
as
much
as
possible.
“There’s
an
old
saying,
leaders
are
readers,”
Scott
said.
“I
became
a
business
owner.
(Carson)
became
a
neurosurgeon.”
The
school
opened
in
2012
as
a
private
school,
aiming
to
bring
in
students
whose
families
were
zoned
for
low-performing
schools
and
lacked
the
financial
means
to
pay
for
private
education.
Recently,
the
school
became
a
school
of
choice
by
opening
as
part
of
the
public
School
District
7
system.
Read
entire
article
here.
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