A groundbreaking event for Pettigrew Heights Apartments is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at 4:30 p.m., 321 S. Spring Avenue (along 11th Street, between Spring and Duluth Avenues).

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In 2010 Sioux Falls Neighborhood Services assisted with the coordination of a new successful neighborhood revitalization initiative called "A Brush with Kindness" (ABWK).

ABWK Program partners include: Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls; Sioux Empire Housing Partnership; Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood; Volunteers of America; Salvation Army; Norberg Paints; and KNWC Radio.

Such program aimed at providing painting, yard clean up, and cosmetic minor repair services to low income home owners in need. The summer goal was to refurbish ten houses within the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood. As of November 9, 2010, there were ten house painting projects completed within the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood (PHN).

There were 300 volunteers who put forth 1450.50 total volunteer hours on PHN projects. This successful partnership program extended into other city core neighborhoods whereby a total of 40 houses were refurbished with 719 volunteers putting forth 2931 total volunteer hours.

The Third Annual Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Cleanup was held on Saturday, September 25, 2010, in conjunction with the 2010 Volunteer Sioux Falls' "One Day One Community Hundreds of Hands" Event. After an early morning rain shower, over 75 volunteers turned out to assist with picking up over 2,020 pounds of rubble, compared with 3,580 pounds picked up in 2009 and 3,700 pounds in 2008. The impact this annual neighborhood cleanup event has had in helping maintain and improve environmental conditions in this Sioux Falls neighborhood is significant.

Those who helped in this volunteer partnership effort included neighborhood and community residents and churches (First Christian Church, First United Methodist Church, and Mt. Zion Temple), youth and young adults served by Volunteers of America, South Dakota Achieve, students and faculty representing Augustana College, Sioux Falls Seminary, Summit House, University of Sioux Falls, 211 HELPLINE, and workers from the Ellis & Eastern Railroad.

At noon, Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Cleanup volunteers were served lunch under sunny skies at the 2nd Annual Fall Harvest Festival located at a "Growing Place Garden," on the Lowell Elementary School Math, Science, & Technology playground. Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Cleanup volunteers joined over 600 other persons during the neighborhood's afternoon Fall Harvest Festival. Over 20 nonprofit organizations had booths under the "Big Top Tent" and shared their organization’s community service information with Lowell School students, their families, and neighborhood residents.

On Monday, October, 26, 2009, Mr. Vikram Pandit, Citigroup CEO, visited Sioux Falls on his cross-country tour to visit with employees and meet with community leaders, elected officials, and the media. One stop included visiting the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Housing Resource Center located within the Bowden Youth Center. Mr Vikram was briefed about affordable housing projects and redevelopment activities within the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood by the Mayor and city staff.

Construction began Monday, October 26, 2009, on the Volunteers of America, Dakotas Pettigrew Heights Apartment project. The housing project will contain 37 income-restricted units on four floors. Four of these units will be one-bedroom, twenty-one units will be two-bedroom, and there will be twelve efficiency apartments on the fourth floor. The project is targeting low income families with children. Many of these will be women and children in the Volunteers of America, Dakotas New Start Program. It is anticipated that construction will be completed in the summer of 2010.

The Sioux Falls Housing and Redevelopment Commission project at 505 S. Duluth Avenue will be a two story building consisting of 8 studio apartments. One apartment will be totally handicapped accessible. The monthly rent for the apartments will range from $310 to $395 including all utilities. These apartments will be income restricted to persons with annual incomes at or below 40% of the area median income ($18,640 is 40% of the area median income for one person). Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2010.

A Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Clean Up Event was held on September 26, 2009, in conjunction with the 2009 Volunteer Sioux Falls. Over 150 volunteers turned out to help, picking up over 3,580 pounds of trash. Volunteers also hung bags with community resource information on every door in the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood (800 bags), and broke for lunch hosted by First Christian Church. Those who helped in the effort included community residents, youth served by Volunteers of America, Augustana College students and workers from the Ellis & Eastern Railroad.