The sweeping public/private project has the support of local government officials, many of whom will attend today's event. The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority is spearheading the project, while Philadelphia-headquartered he Community Builders Inc. is serving as the developer.

Broad Creek's start is being funded by a $35-million grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Hope VI program. Ultimately, this area that is home to two massive public housing projects will blossom into a neighborhood of 600 residences--many of which will be subsidized--a 35,000-sf supermarket, retail shops, a public library and a YMCA branch. Complete buildout of the 87-acre neighborhood will be complete in 2007. The project's first installment is scheduled for delivery late in the summer of 2003.

"Broad Creek promises to be an urban neighborhood that will offer new opportunities for people who want to live in the city," Norfolk mayor Paul D. Fraim explains. "A socially and economically diverse community, it will provide many suburban amenities, yet be only minutes from downtown." Located near Norfolk State University and Norfolk Industrial Park, this two mile area covers 14 non-cohesive neighborhoods, and at the center are the Roberts Village and Bowling Green housing project developments, which account for 700 residences.