FleetBoston Honors Six Community Partners for Leadership in Urban Economic Development; Event Marks 10th Anniversary of First Community Bank.Business Editors BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2000 Six of the region's most effective leaders from the business, community and public sectors were presented today with Community Leadership Partner Awards by FleetBoston Financial FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo. for their unique contributions to urban economic development and partnership with Fleet's First Community Bank. The recipients were honored during a luncheon at the Boston Seaport Hotel to commemorate the 10th anniversary of First Community Bank, the FleetBoston Financial unit nationally recognized as one of the most ambitious and successful urban banking initiatives in the country. "The honorees reflect what First Community Bank has been about since its inception - individual citizens working in partnership with us to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods," said Gail Snowden, managing director of FleetBoston Financial's Community Banking Group and Community Reinvestment Act Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Enacted by Congress in 1977, the CRA encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of their communities for housing and other purposes, particularly in neighborhoods with low or moderate incomes, while maintaining safe and sound operations. initiatives. She oversees the activities of First Community Bank, which is led by FCB See DOS FCB. (operating system) FCB - file control block. President Torrance Childs. First Community Bank was launched in 1990 by the former Bank of Boston Corp. under the name Boston First Banking, a "bank within a bank" whose mission was to significantly affect the future economic wellbeing of historically underserved and culturally diverse urban communities. The Bank adopted its current name in 1991 to reflect its presence outside Boston. First Community Bank is now a part of FleetBoston Financial, which was created last year with the merger of BankBoston and Fleet Financial Group. Robert J. Higgins, president of Commercial and Retail Banking for FleetBoston Financial, said, "First Community Bank has a distinguished track record of service and commitment. Now, as part of FleetBoston, we believe that First Community Bank will have a greater impact." First Community Bank was originally launched as a network of seven Boston-area urban branches (Uphams Corner, Fields Corner, Codman Square, Brigham Circle, Dudley Street, Jamaica Plain and Columbia Park
Columbia Park was a baseball stadium that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ). Over the past decade, it has expanded to 47 branches in Massachusetts, Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. and Connecticut and now serves 140,000 households. It blends traditional retail/lending programs with innovations in community outreach, such as its "First Step" products and services, aimed at those with little banking or credit experience, as well as other innovative programs targeting small business development and inner-city home ownership. First Community Bank has relied upon creative and customized products and services that are especially targeted to serving the unique needs of the communities it serves, as well as old-fashioned business principles. "We always wanted, in fact we always demanded, that First Community Bank be judged by the same bottom-line standard as every other business line," said Snowden. We've succeeded within the bank not because we were treated differently but because we were treated the same." During today's anniversary celebration, Leadership Partner Awards were made to the following organizations and individuals: Community Leadership Partner Award Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services, Inc., a nonprofit community development organization in Providence, RI, received the Community Leadership Partner Award for its contributions in the revitalization of the Providence neighborhoods of Elmwood and South Providence. In 1991, First Community Bank became the first bank branch in ten years to open in the Elmwood area. In partnership with the bank, Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services has done extensive lead-abatement work on 200 housing units in the Elmwood area; completed a $600,000 mixed-use development Mixed-use development refers to the practice of allowing more than one type of use in a building or set of buildings. In planning zone terms, this can mean some combination of residential, commercial, industrial, office, institutional, or other land uses. project by renovating historical property in the neighborhood's commercial district; and staffed a Main Street Program that is revitalizing the area's commercial artery. The Neighborhood Development Corporation of Grove Hall, a nonprofit development group and its director, Virginia Morrison, received the Community Leadership Partner Award for its efforts to revitalize Boston's Dorchester neighborhood commercial district known as Grove Hall. The opening of the Grove Hall First Community Bank branch in 1992 marked the return of banking service in that neighborhood after a 23-year absence. Since then, the group has completed numerous revitalization projects including the $1.2 million redevelopment of Dorchester's Renaissance Building and development of the Grove Hall Retail Center. In addition, it provides residents with job and entrepreneurial training and homeownership opportunities. The Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit development organization, received the Community Leadership Partner Award for its efforts to address economic disinvestment Disinvestment 1. The action of an organization or government selling or liquidating an asset or subsidiary. Also known as "divestiture". 2. A reduction in capital expenditure, or the decision of a company not to replenish depleted capital goods. Notes: 1. , housing and crime in Boston's North Dorchester and East Roxbury neighborhoods. Its accomplishments include the construction of 58 housing units on vacant lots from failed housing projects; the acquisition, demolition and environmental clean-up of a former manufacturing site that is now under agreement with a light-manufacturing company; and a home improvement loan program for "unbankable home owners." Business Leadership Partner Award Dorchester businessman Clayton Turnbull, president of the The Waldwin Group, accepted the Business Leadership Partner Award specifically for his company's role in the revitalization of Roxbury's Dudley Square Dudley Square is the primary commercial center of the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It has long been the center of African American culture in Boston, prior to which the area was primarily Jewish. area from a dilapidated industrial site to a center of commerce and community activity in Boston. Founded in 1992, the Waldwin Group owns and operates seven Dunkin' Donuts Sources: Dunkin' Donuts is an international coffee and donut retailer founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. by William Rosenberg. Corporate Profile History franchises in Boston's Roxbury, Dorchester and South End neighborhoods and has helped reinvigorate re·in·vig·o·rate tr.v. re·in·vig·o·rat·ed, re·in·vig·o·rat·ing, re·in·vig·o·rates To give new life or energy to. re minority communities with enterprise and commitment. Turnbull is president of the Dudley Square Merchants Association and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. Public Sector Leadership Partner Award Orlando Salazar, Northeast regional director of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, received the Leadership Partner Award in the Public Sector category for his efforts on behalf of low- and moderate-income residents in urban communities and for assisting private businesses with technical aid, finding financing and other resources. Mr. Salazar, whose four-member staff covers 59 Massachusetts cities, was specifically recognized for forging progressive partnerships in the Lowell/Lawrence area, which resulted in two commercial loans being made by First Community Bank to two small businesses in Lawrence, creating jobs in this economically distressed urban area. The City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development received the Leadership Partner Award in the Public Sector category for its commitment to building strong Boston neighborhoods through capital construction, business development and housing, real estate and homeowner services. Over the past five years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time department has helped to further stabilize neighborhoods in Roxbury, Mattapan and Dorchester by funding more than 20 affordable housing projects in Boston, increasing homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households and by providing both construction and permanent financing Permanent financing Long-term financing using either debt or equity. permanent financing The long-term financing that supports a long-term asset. on key commercial projects including the Grove Hall Retail Center in Roxbury and Fairfield Center in Dudley. An integral unit within FleetBoston Financial's commercial and retail banking group, First Community Bank will play an important role in FleetBoston's $14.6 billion five-year commitment to its communities. FleetBoston Financial is the eighth-largest bank holding company in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . An $190 billion diversified financial The diversified financial services segment includes a range of consumer and commercially-oriented companies offering a wide variety of products and services, including various lending products (such as home equity loans and credit cards), insurance, and securities and investment services company, it offers a comprehensive array of innovative financial solutions to 20 million customers in some 20 countries. Among the company's key lines of business are: retail banking, with over 1,500 branches in the Northeast; commercial banking, including capital markets/investment banking and commercial finance; investment services, including discount brokerage A discount brokerage is a business that charges clients significantly lower fees than traditional brokerages, typically offering comparatively fewer services and/or advice. ; and full-service banking through more than 250 offices in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . FleetBoston Financial is headquartered in Boston and listed on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : FBF FBF Forearm Blood Flow FBF Frankfurt Book Fair FBF Feedback Form FBF Frame by Frame (animation technique) FBF FleetBoston Financial Corporation (stock symbol) FBF Fundamental Baptist Fellowship ). |
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