Starting up a new CDBG program from scratch can be a challenge, but Mosaic’s deep experience – both in community planning and grant administration, made the process easy for Commerce City. As a new grantee in 2016, Commerce City needed a Consolidated Plan, Annual Action Plan, and Citizen Participation Plan in place before beginning to receive grant funds. Mosaic guided the City through these processes, leaving Commerce City with a scalable plan that called for steadily expanding goals and projects over a five-year period, and giving the City time to acclimate to the program and hire staff.

Mosaic partnered with Commerce City again in 2021 in developing its second five-year Consolidated Plan and 2021 Annual Action Plan. To inform the plans’ goals and priorities and provide opportunities for virtual engagement during COVID-19, our team engaged residents and stakeholders through two virtual community input sessions; 25 focus groups and small group interviews with residents and stakeholders working in housing, community and economic development, and homelessness; and a project website that included tools through which residents and stakeholders could share stories, brainstorm ideas, show where opportunities exist on an interactive map of the city, and respond to a community-wide survey.

Responding to results of these broad community engagement efforts, the City has funded a range of CDBG projects including sidewalk repair and ADA improvements, services for victims of domestic violence, homelessness services, job training, economic development through a revolving loan fund and business incubator, public service grants, a minor home repair program, demolition of blighted properties, and fair housing education.