The Ridley Place neighborhood was home for generations of families, and now some are returning to live in a new mixed-income housing development.
Newport News city leaders and housing advocates cut the ribbon Thursday on the first phase of the 155-unit Legacy Landing, an apartment community tucked into one of the southernmost neighborhoods on the peninsula.
“Legacy Landing is not only a collection of new buildings,” said Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany. “It is the transformation of the former Ridley Place into a vibrant, modern, mixed-income community.”
Newport News redeveloped the neighborhood with the help of a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, awarded in 2019. The city broke ground on the site two years ago.
Around 200 families used to call the neighborhood home, according to Lysandra Shaw, executive director of the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority. So far, around 35 have signed on to move into the new building, which is open to residents now.
“The residents have the right to return,” Shaw said. “They are able to come and they have priority in the housing phases, throughout the whole program.”
The one- to three-bedroom units have amenities such as central air conditioning, dishwashers and balconies. The building is anchored by retail spaces on the ground floor. Another building going up soon will add homes to the neighborhood. Construction will be complete by the end of this year.
Vanessa Eley grew up in the neighborhood and still goes to church at the nearby United House of Prayer.
“I stayed in Harbor Homes, my mother, my sister and myself,” she said. “We had a two-bedroom apartment and it was just wonderful. I learned a lot here.”
She has enjoyed seeing the neighborhood come back.
“I’m grateful to be able to see this and to see people going into something even more modern.”
