The Dunedin hill suburb has established the Brockville Community Development Management Group, which wants to use $270,000 of funding to improve the area and attract more permanent residents.
Project co-ordinator the Rev Andrew Scott said the venture started three years ago when the West Dunedin Youth and Community Trust started trying for funding from the Department of Internal Affairs.
In July, the department awarded it $90,000 a year for the next three years, which would be used to pay for a development co-ordinator for the community group.
"The buzz is that we are getting this funding into our community to make a difference. To get a little bit of money into the community, for the community, is just huge," Mr Scott said.
He believed Brockville would be a test case for the department, as it was the first time such funding had been given to an urban area.
The co-ordinator, who could potentially start next month, would help run meetings, community events, help other community groups obtain funding and promote the area to its residents.
"A chunk of the vision is that we really want to set things in motion so that the community can be self-supporting," he said.
It was hoped medical care and government organisations, such as Work and Income, could be encouraged to visit Brockville on a regular basis to make it easier for residents to access services.
Many members of the community wanted services available in the area, as travelling to and from town could be expensive for those on a tight budget.
"The other side of it is getting people access to some of these resources - over time, they can become self-sufficient.
"I have no interest in sort of throwing bread to the masses," he said.
Brockville already had community gardens, a strong and active church and a group dedicated to beautifying the area, but management group chairman Martin Webber said one of the development co-ordinator's first jobs would be "getting into the community and seeing what [else] is required".
He wanted to see the community become one which attracted long-term residents.
The large number of rental properties in the area meant the population was always shifting.
"The population that is shifting is the one we are trying to key into, because they are the ones who are struggling," he said.
Both men were excited by the possibilities the project offered and that it brought so many groups together, as the church, school, kindergarten, kohanga reo, police and Presbyterian Support all supported it.
