NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A four-day design workshop for the estimated $1 billion Calvert Square and Young Terrace transformation project wrapped up Thursday and developers and residents are now getting a better look at what’s to come.
Excitement is building among residents.
“I am excited,” said resident Ebony Burnham. “Whether you get a voucher or whether you come back, it’s an opportunity to move. It’s an opportunity for transition that everyone actually needs in their life.”
That’s how residents like Burnham say they feel after seeing what’s to come, as the presentation was months worth of feedback from residents, a lot of it done this week during the four-day workshop as Norfolk Redevelopment Housing Authority partners and developers learn exactly what’s to come.
“How they want the streets to be safe, how they want the community to be safe — they just don’t want to have to deal with flooding anymore, so strategies to deal with flooding and also different building types, buildings for seniors, buildings for singles, building for young families, buildings for big families,” said Troy McGhee, principal and design partner for Torti Gallas and Partners.
“We’re just not serving Calvert and Young, we’re serving all of our communities,” said NRHA Vice President of Client Services Julius Norman.
While there is excitement about the future — “The basketball court is coming up, I’m really excited about that for the kids to have somewhere to play and be active,” Burnham said — some still have questions about the estimated $1 billion project.
“I’m really excited for this change,” said Norfolk resident Keenen Baskerville, “however, I do have a lot of growing concerns, especially about the transition period.”
Thursday’s preliminary presentation is a key step, but NRHA officials say there’s still much more work to be done before any of this gets set in stone.
The goal is to have an official master plan created this fall.
For much more on the project, click here.