The records of Neighborhood Renewal Services have been maintained as received into the following series: Board of Directors Meeting Packets; Cathedral District Project 2000; Community Builders; Downtown Saginaw Farmers Market, Clippings, Visual Materials, Cathedral District Housing Survey, Cathedral District tours, and Topical files. The records which include minutes of meetings, published materials, reports, photographs, and other materials document the efforts of this community group, in partnership with local government and private groups and organizations to deal with the issue of urban decay. One of their principal initiatives documented in the records is the Cathedral District Project 2000. This series of records includes agenda and meeting minutes, photographs, financial information, and published materials. The record group is also of value for its visual documentation of the individual houses and buildings in the Cathedral District of Saginaw. This series includes slides and photographs. There are also photographs in the Cathedral District Housing Survey series which is arranged alphabetically by street name and building number.
Neighborhood Renewal Services (NRS), a non-profit agency dedicated to the revitalization of Saginaw's urban neighborhoods, was founded September 1988. The original mission was to work in a single neighborhood in the central city around Saint Mary's Hospital. From its inception NRS has worked in partnership with Saint Mary's which has provided both guidance and financial support to the revitalization effort.
The initial programs of the organization related to the needs of the citizens within the local neighborhood. Among the early initiatives were youth activity programs, health fairs, and historic home tours. From these beginning NRS began to buy and rehabilitate homes near the hospital. In July 1997, NRS received the first year grant of a three-year commitment to acquire property and demolish abandoned and burned-out buildings, loan money for property improvement projects, give grants to residents to beautify their streets and promote neighborhood improvement projects. This was the Cathedral District Project 2000.
The Cathedral District is part of one of eastside Saginaw's oldest neighborhoods, portions of which have been included in the National Register Historic Districts. The buildings range in age from the 1860s to the early 1960s. Cathedral District Project was intended as a demonstration project to eliminate blight, manage land and improve the appearance and character of the neighborhood. In a letter of 1999, the organization's executive director report that the NRS had purchased 47 properties, demolishing with city assistance blighted buildings and then resold the land to neighbors and businesses. New homes were built on many of the parcels.
In 1999, NRS submitted a proposal to the East Central Province Daughters of Charity for funds to develop a resident leadership program. A one year grant was award to develop a program using the Community Builders leadership training model. As part of this training Community Builders are encouraged to initiate projects that physically impact their neighborhood or "otherwise improve the quality of life for residents in Saginaw's low and moderate income neighborhoods."
The records indicate the organization continued its work through 2011. The office closed in 2012.
