Mixed-Income Communities Open in Richmond’s Jackson Ward

Rendering of The Rosa. Image courtesy of Grimm + Parker Architecture

Enterprise Community Development announced it has opened the $30 million second phase of the Jackson Ward revitalization project in Richmond, Va.

The newly completed mixed-income development broke ground in the second half of 2018 and includes two communities with 154 apartment units in two separate buildings, as well as 6,000 square feet of retail.

Located at 744 2nd St., The Rosa encompasses 72 units for low-income seniors across four stories. All its residents have been relocated from the 200-unit Fay Towers senior community, dating back to 1976. The neighboring Van de Vyver Apartment Homes at 701 N. 1st St. offers 82 mixed-income apartments, including 36 affordable units for workforce housing. Both buildings were named in regard to the area’s history, once a center of African American commerce.

Funding sources

The communities’ financing included Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and was provided by six government agencies as well as two private funders, SunTrust Bank (now Truist) and Enterprise Housing Credit Investments. The three-phase project is being developed in a partnership with Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority and is one of the first projects in the U.S. to use HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration’s “transfer of assistance” provision regarding off-site relocation.

The Rosa and Van de Vyver both offer common-area amenities such as fitness centers, business centers, multimedia rooms, lounges and outdoor patios. The project included the conversion of a former convent into eight apartments. A garden, established by the Catholic Diocese, was also preserved.

The final stage of the Jackson Ward project represents the conversion of the former Baker School into 50 living units and is currently under construction, with a planned completion set for early summer 2021.