NEW ORLEANS, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Chase and Enterprise Community Partners are pleased to announce the opening of the 2009 Chase Community Development Competition. Held in New Orleans for the second consecutive year, this real-estate design competition continues to match practical design ideas of national college students with the real-life community needs of low- to moderate income families in the Crescent City.

Started 15 years ago in New York City, the competition refocused its direction in 2008 to center on the rebuilding efforts underway in New Orleans. This competition allows college students to partner with local not-for-profits to create viable and environmentally-responsive real-estate plans that meet a prevalent community need. The winning teams will receive predevelopment grants for the sponsoring not-for-profit to assist in the implementation of the student's winning design. The first place entry will receive a $25,000 pre-development grant. The second place design will get a $15,000 grant, and the third place winners will receive a $10,000 grant. Chase will provide funding for the grants.

"Chase is committed to strengthening neighborhoods by connecting community leaders with innovative solutions," said Lizette Terral, the New Orleans president of Chase. "The Chase Community Development Competition will make a difference in the lives of our customers and neighbors in New Orleans."

Teams are encouraged to focus on one of the 17 target recovery areas identified by the Office of Recovery, Development & Administration. The complete proposal must include financial analysis, architectural renderings and other relevant components.

"Participating in a competition of this magnitude offers students relevant inter-disciplinary experience on how to create structures that positively affect people and the communities where they live and work," said Derek James Hoeferlin, Adjunct Professor for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis and faculty advisor to the collaborative winning team of Washington Univ. and MIT from the 2008 competition. "Being able to work in New Orleans offers an additional component for these students. It gives them a chance to be part of New Orleans’ living history."

Six semi-finalist teams will be selected to present their projects in the final round of the competition. A Live Online Event on September 3, 2009 starting at 3:30 p.m. (CST) will offer detailed information on the competition rules and requirements. Winners will be announced November 17, 2009. For more information, visit www.enterprisecommunity.org/local_work/gulf_coast/.

About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), which operates more than 5,000 branches and 14,000 ATMs nationally under the Chase and WaMu brands. Chase has 168 million credit cards issued and serves consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs and mortgage offices as well as through relationships with auto dealerships and schools and universities. It also serves more than 30,000 commercial banking clients, including corporations, municipalities, financial institutions and not-for-profit entities. More information about Chase is available at www.chase.com.

Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For more than 25 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested more than $10 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve more than a quarter million affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Enterprise is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit http://www.enterprisecommunity.org and http://www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity.

Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.

Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.

Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. Enterprise leverages low-income housing, new markets and historic rehabilitation tax credits; short- and long-term debt, and development services to capitalize projects that make a catalytic difference in communities. Over the last 25 years, Enterprise has privately raised over $8 billion in capital to finance affordable housing, create vital communities and help transform the lives of low-income Americans, particularly those at the lowest end of the economic scale. Currently, Enterprise is investing in communities at a rate of nearly $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity.

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