RRHA was awarded $26,964,119 through HUD’s Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE) VI Grant in 1997 to revitalize the Blackwell community by:
- removing distressed and blighted structures;
- decreasing the concentration of poverty;
- providing quality affordable housing; and
- promoting mixed-income communities.
Funds were used to demolish 440 units of public housing and construct the Townes at River South, a 161 multi-family apartment complex with 75 units designated for public housing family qualifications.
Moreover, the program implemented a robust first-time homeownership program by providing down payment assistance, a loan to purchase assistance funds, and the additional construction of 164 single
family homes in various neighborhoods of the City of Richmond.