Where:
Oildale, Kern County, California

Problem:
North Parks’ aging facilities lacked a safe location for after school activities and adult education.

Solution:
Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) provided a $667,200 loan to construct a 3,076 square foot community center and outdoor site improvements.

Self Help Enterprises (SHE) has a long history of community development in the California Central Valley. The organization has not only completed construction on more than 6,000 new single-family homes, but also has rehabilitated more than 6,200 affordable homes in San Joaquin Valley’s eight-county area. SHE’s key element is assisting local communities to compete for scarce resources and successfully implement rehabilitation programs.

SHE also owns and operates more than 1,300 multifamily units in its service area. One such project is North Parks Apartments in the unincorporated Oildale community in Kern County. The apartment complex was constructed in 1970 and purchased by SHE in 1996. SHE used a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant to purchase the apartments and make critical renovations, which included electrical system updates, new flooring, appliances, cabinets, roofs and parking lot resurfacing. There are 16 one-bedroom apartments, 56 two-bedroom apartments and 28 three-bedroom apartments.

Because of the urgent needs of North Parks’ aging complex, additional facilities such as a community center were never developed. The on-site manager used their unit as the project office. Due to the lack of space, SHE has been unable to provide the apartment residents with services like after school and adult education programs.

With RCAC’s loan, SHE constructed a new 3,076 square foot community center, which includes a manager’s office, computer lab, kitchen, activity rooms, large meeting room, storage room, laundry room and restrooms. The loan also funded other site improvements to the parking lot, picnic facilities, pedestrian walkways and landscaping.
The new community center, named the Stan Keasling Community Center, recognizes RCAC’s chief executive officer of 11 years. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, SHE chief executive officer Tom Collishaw called Keasling a “pioneer of infrastructure and community development.”