By The Star Staff
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia and Maretzie Díaz, the Deputy Secretary of Disaster Recovery in the Housing Department, announced the granting of a $15.2 million loan from Community Development Bank Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for the rehabilitation of the Vimenti Education and Workforce Hub project, which will benefit the community of Villa Prades in San Juan, the Ernesto Ramos Antonini residential complex and adjacent communities.
Other government officials, including Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón, were also on hand for the groundbreaking.
The project, known as Oasis, will include renovating the existing structure and constructing new facilities with the objective of offering essential education and training services to integrate the most vulnerable communities into the workforce.
“The Oasis project is an example of social impact that seeks to address the socioeconomic needs and aspirations of our people in their own community,” the governor said. “The project was chosen for its high socioeconomic impact, particularly in the Villa Prades community and the Ramos Antonini residential complex. Oasis is receiving $15.2 million from IPG [the Economic Development Investment Portfolio Program] for a total investment of $42.7 million in this reconstruction, renovation and new construction project that will house the Vimenti school, from kindergarten to high school, a training and capacity building center, a business incubator and a health center. It is an important social project that will provide services and will greatly benefit this community and my administration is honored to support it.”
Pierluisi noted that “we have committed to Oasis not only with funds, but we are also collaborating with all the impact components of this project through the Department of Housing, the Department of Education, the Family Department, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce and other government entities that are and will be supporting the work that is done here and that is now expanding with this comprehensive model. This is an example of how the private and nonprofit sector, along with the government, can work together to transform lives.”
The governor added that the Oasis proposal is so innovative and comprehensive that it has received million-dollar support from the federal government through Recompete funds, which is why U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves participated in the event.
“The Distressed Recompete Pilot Program is about making sure that everyone has a fair shot,” Graves said. “The Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan will create good paying jobs, invest in workforce development and training, and connect more people to life-changing opportunities.”
The new structure, which will be built with funds from the Economic Development Investment Portfolio Program (IPG), will offer a variety of services, including a school that will cover kindergarten through 12th grade, a training center for low-income people, a business incubator, and a health clinic. The school will be remodeled preserving its historical value, and will have a space dedicated to the exhibition of historical information about the facilities, in compliance with the memorandum of understanding signed with the Historic Preservation Office.
Housing Secretary William Rodríguez Rodríguez said “this project not only revitalizes a key space in the community, but will also become a catalyst for local economic development.”
“With the combined investment of public and private funds, we hope to generate a significant economic impact in San Juan, through the creation of direct jobs, and by attracting new business opportunities and services that will benefit the families of the residential area and the nearby communities,” he said.
The project will create a kind of one-stop shop that will provide the low- and moderate-income sector with the necessary services to encourage social mobility.
Each component of the project will generate economic activity for the residents of Ernesto Ramos Antonini, Villa Padres and adjacent communities. Notably, the scope of work for the project includes the rehabilitation of abandoned facilities that were devastated by Hurricane Maria.
Eduardo Carrera, CEO of the Platform for Social Impact, said the mission of the OASIS project is to create sustainable pathways for families to overcome poverty.
“With an investment of $43 million for the OASIS Hub -- between private and public investment -- another $30 million through the Economic Development Agency (EDA) Recompete Program, and an additional commitment from the local government, the total investment in this project exceeds $100 million,” he said. “This combined financing model, which brings together public, private and philanthropic investment, has been designed to be replicable, allowing other communities in Puerto Rico and beyond to benefit from a comprehensive and sustainable approach. By combining education, health, and business development, the OASIS project establishes a clear path toward economic and social equity.”
The IPG uses CDBG-DR funds to provide loans of up to $50 million to leverage private sector financing and investment for larger-scale projects. The purpose of the IPG is to provide a financing opportunity that will foster the economic revitalization of the island by renewing, on a large scale, commercial and industrial activity through the creation of jobs. The program has an allocation of $800 million in CDBG-DR recovery funds. Of that sum, $600 million was allocated to provide complementary financing to projects with an uncovered need to be able to begin or complete the work.
“Thanks to a joint effort by different public and private sector [entities] and with a federal investment of $30 million that we supported from Congress, today the construction work begins on the Oasis HUB project …” González Colón posted on her Facebook page.
“I am honored to participate in this activity and to have supported the request for funds, but more than anything, I am extremely proud of this achievement,” she said. “This project is an example of the results that can be obtained when there is participation and commitment between the communities and the different public and private sectors of the island. It is anticipated that OASIS will impact over 35,000 people and will create a work and investment model that can be replicated and expanded in other communities. This increases their economic opportunities, as well as provides work and talent to our workforce, to our industries that need it so much. Today is a day of celebration for the community; they competed, dreamed, and won, and now it is Puerto Rico’s turn to see the future of that effort.”
This is quite an interesting SJS article, in two opposite levels but equally important both of them. First, re-reading the article, excluding the direct quotes, you notice a narrative's rich in complements towards the Oasis project. The abundance of references to million-dollar numbers till hitting the $100 million mark, accompanied by a good dose of departments and agencies acronyms that obfuscate everything, would not have functions without actors and actresses; thus, during the announcement of the baby (Oasis), his benefactors are summed to get directions, some are locals (governor, secs., deputy secs, resident commissioners), some international (deputy sec) and some reps. from the private sector. Significantly, the space for the capital city mayor is vacant; perhaps he's still collecting signed…