Transformation plan concepts being presented
Over the past year, residents, local leaders and various community partners have been working together to develop a community-driven transformation plan for a portion of the Southeast Community, including the Ridley Place public housing complex and surrounding area. Preliminary design concepts for neighborhood transformation are being presented at a Community Workshop on Thursday, September 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Marshall Early Learning Center, 743 24th Street. Residents are encouraged to come out to discuss the concepts and to provide feedback on the proposed visions and goals of the Housing, People and Neighborhood task forces. Light refreshments are being served and transportation is available for residents of Ridley Place, Lassiter Courts, and Marshall Courts.
Last summer, the City of Newport News and the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority were awarded a $500,000
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Marshall-Ridley neighborhood. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative provides competitive grants to transform neighborhoods by rebuilding both public and assisted housing into mixed-income communities. The comprehensive process brings together a vast array of stakeholders to create and implement a neighborhood revitalization plan to transform distressed HUD housing and address neighborhood challenges. The initiative is intended to help localities build neighborhoods of opportunity.
The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative focuses on three core goals:
- Housing: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood;
- People: Improve outcomes of households in the target housing related to employment and income, health and, and children’s education; and
- Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.
For more information, visit
www.newportnewschoice.com or contact Garrett Morgan at 926-3834 or
gmorgan@nnva.gov.
