The first building in St. Paul’s Redevelopment Project welcomes residents

NORFOLK, Va — Residents are finally moving back into the Tidewater Gardens area after seeing their old housing demolished. The first building to open, The Reunion at Kindred, is a senior living community for ages 55 and up.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to go from where I was at to basically everything is brand new,” said Cassandra Miller, a former Tidewater Garden’s resident who just moved into the Reunion at Kindred.

Miller moved out when her home was demolished, and now she’s back. She says the biggest different she’s noticed is the silence.

“The planes felt like they were landing on top of the duplex that I lived on,” she said. “So it’s very quiet over here.”

When the demolition of Tidewater Gardens was announced, it caused quite a stir.

People didn’t want to move out of Downtown Norfolk, and there were claims that the project unfairly harmed the African American community.

However, Susan Perry, Director of Norfolk’s Housing and Community Development, says flooding and crumbling infrastructure were major concerns in the region.

“The community was built over an old creek bed, Newton’s Creek, and so when it rained or even when you had a tidal surge, we saw that water go right where that creek was buried underground,” she told News 3.

The new development will have 714 apartment available to residents, about 100 more than were in the old neighborhood. They are split up into three tiers, affordable, market rate, and project based voucher units. Out of the available apartments, 260 are replacement units and 238 are affordable housing units. About a third are subsidized and specifically reserved for returning Tidewater Garden’s residents.

“The residents will not pay any more than 30% of their income towards rent,” Perry said.

For Miller, she says she jumped at the opportunity to return to the neighborhood.

“The problem is, a lot of people get too comfortable where they’re at, and I just felt it was an opportunity and a lot of times opportunities don’t come,” Miller said.

In addition to the 260 replacement units and 238 affordable housing units, former Tidewater Garden’s residents also have first preference for off site units built by other developments like Market Heights and Riverside Station.

Last weekend, residents started moving into the second complex in the area, The Origin Circle at Kindred.

Apartments there are split up in the same way: affordable, market rate, and project based voucher. Except that building will be for families of all ages. They are being constructed by the Franklin Johnston Group in partnership with Brinshore Development.

News 3 reached out to the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority to find out exactly how many people will be moving back to the community. As of now, they have not gotten back with those numbers.

Originally published here on wtkr.com on February 15, 2024. Written by: Conor Hollingsworth