RICHMOND, VA — City of Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Lenora Reid, Interim chief executive officer for Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority (RRHA) Stacey Daniels-Fayson, Virginia Housing CEO Susan F. Dewey, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development director Erik Johnston and other community leaders joined representatives of Enterprise Community Development (ECD) socially distanced and with masks on -- for the grand opening of a $30 million mixed-income and mixed-use infill development in the National Historic Landmark neighborhood of Jackson Ward.
The project draws inspiration from the rich neighborhood of Jackson Ward, listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 1978. During the early 20th Century, Jackson Ward was the region's epicenter of black banking and commerce and has been referred to as "Black Wall Street," much like a similar thriving business community in Tulsa, OK. The area was also home to many theatres, jazz clubs, churches, schools and other institutions that were central to life in this vibrant community leading it to also be known as the “Harlem of the South.” The Rosa, a four-story building located at 744 N. 2nd St., provides 72 homes for low-income seniors, and is named after renowned local educator Rosa Dixon Bowser, the first black teacher hired in Richmond and who helped create Virginia's first professional African American teachers association. The adjacent Van de Vyver Apartment Homes, located at 701 N. 1st St., features 82 mixed-income apartments, including 36 affordable units designated for workforce housing and is named after the school for predominantly African Americans that was once on the site.