$200M Broad Creek Redevelopment Begins

NORFOLK, VA-The city’s planned $200-million neighborhood revitalization endeavor, Broad Creek Renaissance, gets under way with the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the residential construction initiative’s first phase, a 100-unit senior living complex to be called the Franklin Arms.

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.