NORFOLK, Va. — The City of Norfolk is receiving millions of federal dollars to help build more housing in the community, officials said.
According to the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded NRHA and the City of Norfolk a $2.5 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) Current Grantee Award. The money will be used to complete the last phase of the St. Paul's Area/Tidewater Gardens CNI initiative, which will provide 191 additional units to the community.
Two years ago, developers broke ground on one of the largest redevelopment projects in Norfolk.
“Going from then to now, we knew this was a new undertaking,” said NRHA Chief Development Officer Steve Morales.
Developers are transforming the St. Paul’s neighborhood, replacing aging subsidized housing with modern, mixed-income apartments. Since then, construction crews have completed two buildings, Reunion Senior Living at Kindred and Origin Circle at Kindred.
Reunion Senior Living at Kindred offers 72 one and two-bedroom apartment homes. It also includes a fitness center, computer lab, comfortable community spaces, on-site management and off-street parking. Origin Circle at Kindred offers 120 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Now, they’re working on phase two, Unity at Kindred.
“That’s 140 units and that’s set to open next year,” Morales said.
It will include 141 apartments and 17,700 square feet of commercial space.
It’s a project Morales said came with some challenges and delays.
“We’re probably six months or a year behind, primarily because of COVID," he said. "Also, now because of the interest rates and the cost increases in the properties. It just made us go after additional sources in order to get the project done.”
As crews work to finish Unity, housing authority leaders are looking to the last phase of this project and how a $2.5 million grant will support their effort to revitalize this community.
“That’s close to a $100 million project now and even $2.5 million is critical so that we can get to the financial closing,” he said. “It completes the funding necessary so that we can move forward with construction.”
NRHA Executive Director Nathan Simms said that this transformed community of Tidewater Gardens is an expression of diversity and inclusion.
"Mixed-income families are on every block, in every building and on every floor," Simms stated. "This is a community that welcomes people who share the same values of living in a safe, affordable neighborhood with access to amenities that enhance their quality of life. It serves as an inspiration and a beacon of what's possible in Norfolk."
In addition to the grant, the redevelopment of the Tidewater Gardens area was made possible due to a $30-million HUD CNI grant in 2019, as well as more than $150 million in local and private funding. NRHA officials said that it is scheduled to be completed between 2026 and 2027. Of the total 383 new units, one-third will be available for rent-subsidized housing, one-third for affordable housing and one-third for market-rate housing.
