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2021 Development that Best Preserves Family Housing
The Retreat at Harbor Pointe
Developer and owner: Lawson
Location: Norfolk, Virginia
The Retreat at Harbor Pointe in Norfolk, Virginia, not only provides 246 families with affordable housing in a new, modern apartment community, but involved significant remediation and work that will eventually connect a boardwalk with the existing 22.5-mile Elizabeth River Trail.
The development received $22.2 million in federal LIHTC equity from Wells Fargo Affordable Housing Community Development Corporation and offers high-end amenities such as a resort-style pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center, modern kitchens, energy-efficient appliances, granite countertops and a patio or balcony.
Developer Lawson Cos. raised the site out of a 100-year flood plan, replaced non-native vegetation with salt-tolerant native reeds, installed rip-rap to stabilize the shoreline and oyster castles to create habitat for the oysters to naturally cleanse the river.
In addition to the apartments, there will be a retail component on the site within two years, continuing the effort to provide affordable housing, remove an eyesore, make new trails available to the public and stimulate the local economy.
“This is a beautiful property with an awesome location,” said DOD judge Ray Landry of Davis-Penn Mortgage Co. “There’s nothing for the NIMBYs complain about.”