A 90-acre beachfront area was redeveloped into a mixed-use traditional neighborhood development. Developer LeylandAlliance worked with the City of Norfolk and the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority to build a 700-unit seaside neighborhood with a variety of housing types including 20 percent rental apartments and accessory dwelling units, a public beach, and a range of public spaces.
The pre-existing housing on the site was built by the federal government in 1960 and was in bad condition by the early 1990s. The city demolished the existing housing and relocated residents (facing considerable criticism), and decided to use the expanding tax base of a redevelopment to pursue a goal of assisting low-income residents find better housing.
DPZ CoDesign planned the new neighborhood in a 1994 public charrette. The irregular layout of the development allows for the preservation of existing trees on the site.
Similar Projects
Highlands Garden Village #thisisCNU
Denver, Colorado
For a century, the 27-acre Elitch Gardens amusement park was an exciting destination for Denver, CO—until the facility moved in the 1990s.
Hunters View #thisisCNU
San Francisco, California
By any measure, San Francisco ranks among the world’s most beautiful cities. Yet for years, in a sector that tourists never see, 50 barracks-style buildings constructed in 1943 housed 264 families in poverty and fear.
Mercado District #thisisCNU
Tucson, Arizona
The Mercado District, once leveled by urban renewal, is fast becoming one of Tucson’s most significant hubs.