HACE, formerly known as the Hispanic Association of Contractors & Enterprises, officially announced its 2025 Neighborhood Development Plan set to address economic development, affordable housing, social services and neighborhood building.

The announcement was made during the celebration of La Feria del Barrio on Sept. 13. Maria Gonzalez, president of HACE, was presented an award of $100,000 provided by The Wells Fargo Regional Foundation for the development of a new 10-year Neighborhood Development Plan for the Fairhill and St. Hugh Neighborhoods in Eastern North Philadelphia.

“The plan will set out to identify community needs, ranking them in terms of their priority, assessing available resources within the community to meet the needs, (and will) identify new private and public investments that can bridge the gap between the needs and what the community can accomplish on its own,” the organization stated.

According to Gonzalez, after 20 years of work, the goal is to continue to grow the community  and reap the benefits of having created a market that is attractive to private investors.

“We thank the staff and the board of the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation for selecting HACE and we look forward to combining the best ideas and experience of neighborhood leaders, HACE staff, and expert consultants in community and economic development to develop a roadmap for new economic development initiatives for this community,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also invited residents to visit HACE’s Business and Visitors Center located at 2708-10 N. 5th Street, which will serve as the hub for collecting ideas and feedback from residents and other stakeholders.

“HACE has been a trusted partner of the Foundation for many years “said Denise McGregor Armbrister, executive director of the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation.  “We are excited to support the residents of Fairhill and St. Hugh as they launch this new revitalization planning effort.”