January 15, 2008

Volume 1, Issue 1I

Carver-VCUPartnership

ter planning, planningcommission, parks andrecreation, CommunityAssisted Public Safety(CAPS), and one of themost important …representing Carver’sneeds at City Council!!Carver 2008: We hope tosee more trash cans,more single-familyhomes, better infrastruc-ture, fewer dilapidatedproperties and graffiti,less crime, more peopleactually walking in theneighborhood, less traf-fic, more trees; and last,but certainly not least,more neighborhood ac-tivities and social eventssuch as wine tasting,trips, potluck dinners,movie nights and varietyshows, and block parties.As we head into 2008, Ihope we can concentrateon beautifying our com-munity and making itsafer; and get to knowour neighbors. There isstill a need for additionalBlock Captains. When we work together, it fos-ters an appreciation for each other, which helpsus work together better. What do you see for Carver for 2008 and be-yond? How do you planto be a part of your com-munity? Come to CACIL& share your vision.

There is work to do!!!There is work to do!!!There is work to do!!!There is work to do!!!

Charleen Baylor, CACIL President

CARVER ON THE MOVE 2007-2008

As Carver and theCarver Area Civic Im-provement Leaguemoves into a new year of community-assistedprogress, it is time toreflect on what was ac-complished in 2007 andto establish goals for 2008.Last year was one of much activity. New offi-cers were elected andthe new CACIL Boardattended a brainstorm-ing retreat to help us tobe more productive as we identify issues andfocus on goals and ac-tions to move the com-munity forward.Carver 2007: NationalNight Out (AgainstCrime)- a huge success, with a cook-out, movie,karaoke, the fire house,police presence, andmore…Our Carver Community Garden isthriving, with outsiderson the waiting list for lots… The AnnualHealth & Housing Fair attracted participantsfrom Jackson Ward andVCU….The “Carver Whisper” Newsletter has a new look (and anew name)….The Park-ing District was ap-proved by City Council(some kinks still to be worked out)….Carver scholarships are avail-able (applications atCACIL or 1103 MarshallStreet)….Our own com-munity member, RonBrown is the Carver-VCU Partnership liai-son; he has enhancedthe after-school pro-gram and fostered manynew and exciting rela-tionships, such as withCarver Promise andThe William Byrd Com-munity House….Carver Clean-Up Days continueto be a success; .…Social Activities in-cluded “Meet and GreetYour Neighbor” and theChristmas Party, whereall in attendance re-ceived the First Carver CommemorativeChristmas Tree Orna-ment…Housing & Com-munity Developmentcame in many forms:The Unifirst Buildingchanged a series of oldugly warehouse-typestructures into a pedes-trian friendly eye-pleasing frontage; LeighStreet lots readied for construction.Many community resi-dents participated in theactivities mentioned,but just as many repre-sented Carver as theyparticipated behind thescenes; going to NIB(Neighborhoods InBloom) meetings, mak-ing calls to the mayor and our councilman,contacting city agencies,attending meetings suchas: other neighborhoodorganizations, City mas-

Carver Newsletter Published Quarterly

Articles Due 1/1/2008Published 1/15/2008Articles Due 4/1/2008Published 4/15/2008Articles Due 7/1/2008Published 7/15/2008Articles Due 10/1/2008Published 10/15/2008

Inside this issue:

Letter from CACIL Presi-1Carver Parking District 2Real Estate Committee 2Something About the 3CACIL membership 3Carver Community 4Recipes 4

The Carver

Whisper

Carver Parking District Update

household at a cost of $35.00 per placard. Eachperson must show proof of residency.

VCU sponsored

refunds

will beavailable thru CACIL during the January and February meetings

One hour parking Mondaythru Saturday 7:00 am— 10:00 pm Except by validpermit.Requirements for the parkingpermit is as follows—Mustlive in the parking district.Purchase permit (decal andvisitor placards). Carver de-cals are limited to 3 perhousehold at a cost of $25.00 per decal. Visitorplacards are limited to 2 per

CACIL Real Estate Committee Update

Doug Klefner, Chairman / CACIL Vice President

pany to RRHA for review.The committee took noaction on this item.As you can tell from theabove proposals, the nextarea of major activity inCarver will be in the 1100and 1200 blocks of Leighand Catherine Streets.Additional developershave expressed interest toRRHA in building housesin these blocks. Oncethese various developer'sproposed activities arebetter defined they willmake presentations to thecommunity. Input from thecommunity and further refinement will be neces-sary before there is anyapproval and construction.The city is currently work-ing on plans to widen andimprove Catherine Streetfrom Harrison to Bowe.This work will provide thenecessary framework for additional housing in thispart of our neighborhood.Improvements, rejuvena-tion and reconstructioncontinue to take place inCarver. The addition of new homeowners is one of CACIL's priorities. We feelthat the next few years willsee additional quality de-velopment that will further strengthen Carver.There was a large turnoutfor our November meet-ing. The seven committeemembers heard from 4different developers re-garding various projectsproposed for our neighborhood.1. Mr. West is renovatinga house in the 700 blockof Catherine Street andrequested a variance for 'side yard setback re-quirements'. This is asmall house and he pro-posed to add a small ad-dition at the rear for akitchen and bathroom.The committee approvedhis request as the addi-tion is small and is neces-sary to make this houseattractive for sale to ahomeowner.2. A developer from At-lanta made a presentationregarding the Lewis Print-ing Company site at 904Leigh Street. They pro-posed to demolish theexisting building and con-struct a four story studenthousing apartment build-ing containing approxi-mately 125 one, two andthree bedroom apart-ments. They also wouldconstruct a parking deckat the rear of the site. Thecommittee did not supportthis proposal as we felt thiswas not a use that wouldbe compatible with theCarver. The committeewas concerned about thesize of the facility, trafficproblems and the proximityto Carver ElementarySchool.3. Mr. Davis made somebrief comments about con-structing houses in the1100 and 1200 blocks of Leigh and CatherineStreets. Mr. Davis has pre-viously constructed severalhouses in the 700 block of Catherine Street. The com-mittee took no action onthis presentation.4. Mr. Bilder and Mr. Ter-ranova made a presenta-tion on constructing houseson empty lots in the 1100and 1200 blocks of Leighand Catherine Streets.They presented a site planand some sketches of whatthe houses would look like.Bilder and Terranova cur-rently own several lots inthis project area and wouldwant to acquire additionallots in order to fill-in thevacant areas in this part of the neighborhood. Thisproposal is at a preliminarystage and they have re-cently provided additionalinformation on their com-

(top) no parking

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The Carver Whisper

CACILScholarships for High SchoolStudents (juniorsand seniors) areavailableContact 804-827-1904 for anapplication and details.

Carver-VCU PartnershipAfter School Program:Monday, Tuesday, Thurs1103 West Marshall St.3pm—5pmVolunteers and Mentorsneeded. Please contact827-1904(rbrown34@vcu.edu)tooffer your help andknowledge.

There Is Something In The Name

Jason Snook , Carver Community Member

CACIL Membership Update

one another. Members of acommunity look out for thosein need; they serve others forthe benefit of all. Being a com-munity will even mean puttingother's needs ahead of ourown from time to time.We are Carver Community,and there is something about aname. True enough, ours is ashared destiny. Our personalprosperity is inextricably tiedto that of our neighbor. So ourresolve as a community mustbe for unity, hospitality, and ashared ownership of the futureof Carver. With a new yearahead of us, lets all freshlycommit to being a part of thiscommunity by looking for waysto serve. With so many excit-ing things going on in Carverthis year, there's surely a partfor you to play. An easy wayto find out about how you canbe a part is to come out to ourneighborhood associationmeetings. CACIL (Carver AreaCivic Improvement League)meets the last Tuesday of everymonth at 7pm at Moore StreetBaptist Church, located at 1408W. Leigh Street.Have you ever taken thetime to look up yourname? No, I don't meansearching for your name onthe Internet (which, I admit,I've done). I mean lookingup your name to understandits meaning. For example,take our neighborhood'snamesake, George Washing-ton Carver. "George" isderived from a Greek wordthat literally means "farmer"or "earth worker". Amonghis many accomplishments,George Washington Carveris perhaps best known for hisagricultural research; discov-ering over 100 different usesfor the peanut in his life-time. Sufficed to say, wederive a lot of meaning fromour name whether we knowit or not. Our names are apart of our identity; theyspeak to some of the mostimportant aspects of who weare.From Clay District to SheepHill, our community has hadseveral names until the1950's when it assumed itspresent-day moniker -Carver Community. What Ifind interesting is the sur-name our neighborhooddecided to take on. Notsimply "neighborhood", or "district", or even (with alldue respect to ourneighbor, Jackson) "ward"but "community" - CarverCommunity. There issomething about a name. If names communicate some-thing of one's identity, then"community" says some-thing about who we are as aneighborhood. Much morethan simply a group of peo-ple living in proximity toone another, those whoplayed a role in naming ourneighborhood wanted us tobe a community.Communities describe thedynamic of a peoplegroup. It implies a certaincohesion or "unity" thattells us we are all connectedin a very special way. Itmeans that each of us isconnected to our neighbormeaningfully. As a memberof a community, I can notdisregard the welfare of myneighbor without my pros-perity being jeopardized aswell. Simply put, membersof a community look out forWest Leigh Street. Come andtake part in your communitydevelopment and growth.The cost of membership is$15.00 for Carver residents,and $25.00 for non-residents(that own property in Carver)and business owners.

You must be present at themeeting to join.

A benefit of becoming amember of CACIL is that allmembers can use the VCUSiegel Center at no cost.This option is available to allCACIL members as long asthey remain an active mem-ber of the civic group.Effective September 2007,the gym membership bene-fit were expanded. All CA-CIL member can now at-tend all of VCU gym facili-ties under the same agree-ment as the Siegel Center.If you are already a member of CACIL then it is time for youto enjoy the expands benefitsof your gym membership.If you are not a member of CAICI, please come to themonthly meeting and join.CACIL meetings are held onthe last Tuesday of everymonth at 7:00 pm at MooreStreet Baptist Church 1408

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Volume 1, Issue 1I

VCU Gym FacilitiesStuart C. Siegel Center Cary Street ComplexFranklin Street Pool  MCVCampus Rec. & AquaticCenter Thalhimer Tennis Center ... www.recsports.vcu.edu/oap.html