Today, Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority is the largest redevelopment and housing authority in Virginia and is a national leader in real estate development and property management. Since its creation in 1940, NRHA has continually evolved with the times, working to renew and revitalize the City of Norfolk. Being a part of a national housing system historically ingrained in social injustice and racial inequality, we haven’t always gotten it right. But we’ve made it our mission to now be on the right side of history by providing quality housing opportunities that foster mixed-income communities.
Prior to NRHA’s formation, City Manager Thomas P. Thompson developed a five-member advisory committee in 1935 to make a study of Norfolk’s slum districts with hope of obtaining federal funds to eliminate them. Its report led to the Virginia General Assembly passing legislation in 1938 to create local housing authorities to pursue slum clearance programs and permit cities to participate in the federal housing program to eradicate slums. Then after the statewide slum-clearance conference in Richmond held by the League of Virginia Municipalities, Norfolk City Council voted to create the Norfolk Housing Authority on July 30, 1940.
The Authority’s slum clearance focus, however, was quickly redirected during World War II. During the war, Norfolk became inundated with thousands of defense workers and service members. Its population grew from 137,500 in 1939 to a wartime 1943 peak of 305,121. And the Authority stepped up its role in providing housing. On April 1, 1941, the first group of 20 families moved into Merrimack Park, the Authority’s first defense housing project.
Then after the Virginia General Assembly passed House Bill 236 on March 13, 1946, the Authority’s focus again shifted. This bill became the Virginia Redevelopment Law, through which the Authority moved away from the war mission toward a broad program of urban development. In June 1946, the Authority updated its name to what it’s known as today, and going forward, its primary roles would be builder and operator of housing for low-income families and purchaser of blighted areas for resale to private developers.
NRHA acknowledges, however, that we have operated under a housing system that has for decades discriminated against renters and homeowners of color. As John C. Finn, an associate professor of sociology, social work and anthropology at Christopher Newport University, reported: “Most cities in the U.S. are nearly as segregated now as in 1968 when the Fair Housing Act passed.” We recognize Norfolk is no exception.
Yet as an organization, NRHA has a great opportunity to rectify local historical housing inequalities that forced low-income, predominantly families of color into pockets of poverty that are segregated from the greater Norfolk community. For example, the St. Paul’s transformation will give NRHA and the City of Norfolk the ability to shape neighborhoods and communities so that people of mixed-incomes and races can live, work and play together.
NRHA’s efforts forward are shaping the city into one with bright opportunities for all.