Vision for a New West End

Faulkner is taking his idea for Princeton housing further still.

"If we're going to put together housing for our staff, why would it just be for the Filipino staff? Why couldn't it be for anybody that really wants to work for us, to get a start, to get on their own feet?" he says. "So (the houses are) not going be just for the Filipino nurses or just for the nurses. It's going to be for anyone who wants to come here and needs a place to start out, to get back on their feet."

As usual, one good idea led to another.

"Then we thought, 'Gee, if we do this for people who travel half way round the world to come work with us, why can't we do this for people who live in the West End ?" Faulkner says. In addition to the six houses that the hospital owns, Faulkner says it also bought two small apartment units as well.

And Dominick is building four new houses near the hospital. He believes the market for new housing in the area is strong; he easily sold houses in nearby Rising-West Princeton. He says he had as many as 20 pre-qualified residents lined up to buy them.

Faulkner and Aaron believe that by concentrating the new and renovated houses in a defined area near the hospital, they will create a critical mass of interest from people who want to stay in, or even move to, the West End community.

They are starting to see a transformation. Property values are rising around where the new and remodeled houses sit, and they've noticed more people in the area are fixing up the exterior of their own houses.

Aaron hopes that the new families, new houses and investments made by Princeton , and nearby stores such as Walgreen's and Food World, will soon spur economic redevelopment in the mostly vacant businesses along Tuscaloosa Avenue and along Lomb Avenue .

"We want things in West End like everybody else has in their neighborhood. There is not a pizza place or a sit-down restaurant here. That's a big thing we're pushing for," he says.

"The hospital has been a big draw, as well as being the biggest employer on this side of town. We are glad to see a private company like the hospital take the initiative to do housing," Aaron says. "It gives the neighborhood an injection, and it gives validation to the business community and the work it's doing."

The West End community already has a new state-of-the art library. Aaron said the school board plans to build a new $26 million high school in the area. And Faulkner said the city is set to add a lighted walking track near Lomb and Cotton Avenues.

"We want people to see that West End is a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to walk around in the evening."