St. Augustine's College Works To Rebuild Raleigh Community

Marshall Harvey calls College Park a work in progress. He heads up St. Augustine's college community development program that is helping to restore the neighborhood.

The program's first project is now its headquarters, which is also a family resource center that offers computer training. Four new townhouses will be built on a parcel of land in the area, thanks to an St. Augustine alumnus.

"She has a vision of how the neighborhood was when she was here and going to school, and she wanted that vision back somehow," Harvey says.

A day care center is another sign that progress has returned to this community like a good neighbor, and it is a welcome sight.

"We do have young children in the day care, and we care about their environment of the children and the safety of the neighborhood," says daycare director Mildred Goodson.

Harvey says the children could not play outside of the day care center for fear of their safety. Now the playground is one of the busiest places in the center.

Since the area is considered Raleigh's gateway, it is also the first image people see when visiting St. Augustine's. Harvey believes it is in everyone's best interest that the college helps to refurbish the neighborhood.