Norfolk Opens 140 Apartments for Displaced Families

Dozens of families are getting their neighborhood back, upgraded and full of promise.

Norfolk officials cut the ribbon on Unity Place at Kindred this week, opening 140 new apartments in the city's St. Paul's district. Of those units, 49 are specifically reserved for families who once lived in Tidewater Gardens, the public housing community that was demolished to make way for this transformation.

The new building on Church Street offers one, two, and three-bedroom homes with amenities former residents never had. There's a fitness center, community rooms, a playground, outdoor grilling areas, and a parking garage. Two buildings surround a communal plaza with over 26,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by a McDonald's.

This is the third phase of construction in what locals call the St. Paul's Transformation. Last September, the first two buildings opened with 192 apartments and welcomed 44 returning families. Another building added 85 more units in the months that followed.

Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander called it "more than new buildings." He's right about that.

The Ripple Effect

The transformation goes far beyond construction. Through the People First Initiative, returning residents are landing better-paying jobs and their children are gaining access to quality early childhood programs and after-school activities.

Kids who needed developmental support are now getting it, and their reading and math scores are climbing. Adults are connecting with healthcare providers and managing chronic conditions they'd ignored for years.

When Tidewater Gardens was demolished, the city and Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority made a formal promise: original families would have the right to return. They backed that promise with real support, covering security deposits, moving expenses, and utility setup costs.

Not everyone chose to come back. Some families used housing vouchers to buy their own homes. More than 90 percent of relocated residents moved to neighborhoods with low poverty rates, giving them options they didn't have before.

Another building called Kinship at Kindred is under construction now. It will add 191 more units, with 73 set aside for returning families.

Earl Fraley, chair of the housing authority's board, summed up the mission simply: "This development is for the people who have lived here." The next generation will call it home too.