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Community weighs in on future of St. Paul’s area public housing

Posted at 6:10 PM, Aug 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-08 22:42:56-04

NORFOLK, Va. - The City of Norfolk is held the first of six public meetings Tuesday to discuss the future of public housing in the St. Paul's area near downtown.

The meeting comes on the heels of Norfolk City Council's July decision to delay a vote on a vision that would see the demolition of homes in Young Terrace, Tidewater Gardens and Calvert Square in favor of mixed-income housing.

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority says the neighborhoods are very old and suffer from flooding.

NRHA Chair Barbara Hamm Lee says the homes will have to be demolished at some point but residents in the affected areas would be allowed to stay, move to another public housing area or take a voucher to help find private housing.

At Tuesday's meeting residents were asked to give their opinions on what makes a healthy neighborhood, what assets they'd like to see and how they want to receive information in the future.

The NRHA says more than 4,000 people live in the St. Paul's neighborhoods.