A plan to revitalize Gilpin Court
ICON ARCHITECTURE
Public-housing units in Gilpin Court will be replaced under a plan to renovate the area over the next ten years.
VIDEO: Redevelopment of Gilpin Court
Richmond officials last night showed off their plans to transform one of the city's toughest neighborhoods into a vibrant mixed-used community.
About 100 residents of the Gilpin Court public-housing project watched as Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority staff members and representatives of two architectural firms spelled out their vision for a $503 million revitalization of the area, which includes less poverty and stronger ties to the downtown community just across Interstate 95.
In the coming decade, the foreboding blocks of apartment buildings could give way to a community of homes, businesses, schools and government agencies known as North Jackson Ward.
It would represent the area's first major attempt at decentralizing poverty, a key goal of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a driving force for the RRHA's executive director, Anthony Scott.
If the plan plays out according to Scott's vision, the residents would represent a true slice of the area: some on public assistance, some not, but neither side distinguishable from the other.
They would live in a neighborhood that includes everything they would need and want. And, playing off the proximity to the city's convention center, the new neighborhood would be skirted by hotels and other traveler-friendly amenities.
It would have 1,600 to 2,000 housing units, including 480 to 600 subsidized units. Although that's a decrease from the area's current 800 units, no RRHA resident would lose housing because of the project.
Several residents asked about that last night, with varying degrees of clarity.
Scott assured them that "public-housing families are our first and foremost priority, period." A later promise that new development would be open to current residents assuaged the concerns of some.
The housing authority will unveil a similar plan for the Dove Street neighborhood tonight at Overby-Sheppard Elementary School.
The North Jackson Ward project is scheduled to take eight to 10 years. Construction most likely would begin on vacant and commercial space along First Street and work its way back into the neighborhood.
But with funding and approval stages still to come, RRHA officials don't expect demolition to begin for at least three years. The project would be funded with a combination of local, state and federal tax dollars and private investment. The varying stages would require the approval of the city and, in any case that involves the displacement of residents, HUD.
It's no accident that the revitalization project is beginning in Gilpin Court, or that the name would change to North Jackson Ward.
"It's our most viable location," Scott said last week.
"It's going to be a model for how public housing should change," he said. "We know our strengths: We're property developers and managers. But we can facilitate other change. We want to be the catalyst."
A test of that possibility could come on what now is a swath of open land just outside the Calhoun Center.
In Scott's vision, a school would rise there. But for anything to happen, the city and its school system would have to agree.
"We're going to challenge the way things are done now," Scott said.
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or
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Reader Reactions
RTDhonesty-Thanks. Back when I attended Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School (Huguenot Building), there was little attention placed on punishment. I remember my teacher having a paddle in her classroom and she used it. It takes a village to raise a child and I consider myself a part of the village. Instead of being a part of the problem, we (as the village) need to be a part of the solution. Instead of criticizing the N. J-Ward project, offer your input and solutions to help the persons in question get out of their situation. Education, of parents and kids, is KEY. I am an eternal optimist…I believe that there is good in all people; sometimes it’s up to us to help them realize it.
vmiwarrior - you miss the point of my comment. F & C Courts are on the line, but shielded from the County by Route 64 and they are already in poverty stricken neighborhoods of Henrico. Propose to move them to the more affluent sections of the “line” and the counties will start to help - do your research.
MZSAM—- I had prior statements on here on fully stand by them. YOU are a perfect example of what is possible. The REAL problem and cause of perpetual poverty?? The public schools! Richmond has CRAP for schools, buildings, administration, etc. I am sure there are some great teachers, but as a whole, there is no pride or meaningful effort made to better the system. If the majority of these KIDS in poverty have no good role models, supportive or capable parents, their school environment is one of the only other chances they get at some self-esteem, encouragement, etc. When someone realizes there is a whole world outside of the projects and gov’t assistance, only then will they strive to pull themselves out. YOU DID IT! The school system is the answer, and it’s not that they need more money. The administration is accountable for all the dropouts!
mzsam, I didn’t say everyone in Gilpin was a freeloader…like everywhere, I’m sure there are nice folks. But, by definition, if you live somewhere for free (or close to it) for a lengthy period of time, you ARE a freeloader.
As far as teaching, I never blamed the kids, but their families that let them down. My first “parent/teacher night”, I had ONE couple show up out of all my classes! I don’t think it was mere coincidence that they were the parents of my one straight A student. Not only were they the only ones that showed up that night, but I later found they were the only parents of a student who were married.
The schools had their problems, but they only get kids 6 hours a day. It’s the home environment that shapes these kids long before they get to kindergarten. It sickened me to see the way some of these kids were treated at home, what they were exposed to, nad came to accept as “normal”. A third of my 10th grade girls were pregnant or had kids. It was a status symbol for boys to sire as many kids as possible with different girls. These are problems that won’t be solved by moving people to nicer digs…it will take a real change in the what we expect from families in our culture to make a difference. BTW, I loved my kids, and it really broke my heart to think about what their prospects in life were. I helped as many as I could with the 6 hours/day, 5 days/week.
City resident-where exactly in the city do you live? Before posting ideas, confirm them first…Fairfield and Creighton Court ARE directly on the Henrico line!!!!
vmiwarrior-You really don’t know the situation that led them to Gilpin Court. So, they may very well be ‘less fortunate’. As a teacher, I thought it was YOUR job to ‘train up the child in the way he/she should go’; not put them down. I wish there were more teachers like the teachers I mentioned in my first blog; caring, compassionate teachers. Not everyone in Gilpin Court is a ‘freeloading moocher’; so stop generalizing. Why can’t we all help each other-the world would be a better place.
Not my idea - but a great one.
These “Courts” need to be re-build directly adjacent to the Chesterfield and Henrico County lines. The Counties do their best to make poverty a “City” problem and as a result the city residents only have to deal with these issues. Building them on the line will bring the County to the table to come to a joint solution.
mzsam-I don’t want to experience what people in Gilpin experience, nor do I want my family to, so I take steps to prevent that…education, finding steady employment etc…I came ro Richmond without knowing ANYONE and started at a min. wage job. I made it. You started in the projects. You made it. That’s my point. There is no need to coddle people forever. And please, let’s stop calling people “less fortunate” when it doesn’t apply…“less fortunate” is losing your job and being unemployed for 6 months. “Shiftless” is not having a job for 6 years. “Less fortunate” is having your house burn down after 10 years…“Freeloading Moocher” is living off the public dole for 10 years.
(For what it’s worth, I’m a former inner-city High School teacher, so I know what some of the dynamics are.)
The projects need to be torn down. Murder,rapes,robberies,burglaries,etc. are remakably higher in these areas. If Richmond wants to be the City of the future we need to rid ourselves of these projects. The project has failed.
I am really saddened by the comments on this blog. I think we all need to experience what the residents of Gilpin Court has experienced before we can judge them. I am a product of the housing projects. I was told I would only continue to be a resident with many babies. I actually believed them; until someone else believed in me. My high school teachers told me that I could go to college, but I knew we couldn’t afford it. I received scholarship money, grants, financial aid and student loans. I graduated college and I am now a certified project manager at a major financial institution. All I’m saying is we need to stop belittling the less fortunate and believe in them. I also have a teen mentoring program and I’m currently working with some of the youth in the Gilpin Court community. They say to me ALL the time that NO ONE believes in them and because of that, they don’t believe in themselves. Let’s stop criticizing people and start helping people. I am thankful to God for my upbringing; after all it made me the success person I am today. BTW, I am making way more money than I ever imagined. I got my start with a handout. Go North Jackson Ward…
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