Richmond apartments renovated

Gussie Marrow likes his renovated apartment on Richmond's North Side, particularly how it keeps him comfortable on hot days.

Before, "we had air coming through the front door, coming through the back door, the window. My [heating and cooling] bill was high," the 78-year-old retired maintenance worker said. "Now, it's different. It's a much better place."

The Better Housing Coalition bought the largely vacant Lincoln Manor apartments in 2005 after a foreclosure by the Virginia Housing Development Authority.

The nonprofit housing coalition, which is responsible for about 1,200 apartment units and 140 single-family homes in the Richmond region, is now overhauling the late-1960s complex as Lincoln Mews.

The $11 million project, including acquisition costs, is scheduled for completion in September and will reduce the number of apartments to about 245, from 300, on a 10-acre site.

The remaining oneto four-bedroom apartments are being renovated to be modern and energy efficient, and a new community center, funded largely by the Robins Foundation, will feature after-school care and other programs serving the needs of the qualifying lowto moderate-income residents. The project also includes improved landscaping, sidewalks and laundry facilities.

"There's a huge need for nice housing for the working poor," said Jane Helfrich, vice president of resource development and marketing for the Better Housing Coalition.

Residents have begun moving into the renovated units, and officials report strong interest from prospective newcomers. Rents start from $480 to $726, depending on the number of bedrooms.

Lincoln Mews represents the Better Housing Coalition's first major venture in North Side, and it's comparable in size to the group's Winchester Greens apartment community along Jefferson Davis Highway in Chesterfield County. Officials hope Lincoln Mews will spur other reinvestment along the Chamberlayne Avenue corridor.

The apartments are about 40 percent vacant, in part because previous managers started cracking down on drug-dealing and other problem behaviors by residents, according to housing coalition officials.

Marrow, who has lived at the complex for three years, said he'll welcome the expected influx of neighbors if they can behave.

"I'm not used to that rough life," he said.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .