Richmond City Councilmember urges RRHA board to halt vote for transfer of public housing property

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Leaders of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) voted to transfer the Gilpin Court property to the Richmond Development Corporation (RDC).

According to RRHA, Gilpin was built in 1942 and is the oldest public housing site in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and its structure and building systems have been deemed obsolete. The proposed redevelopment will help improve the lives of Gilpin residents and be the first step in rebuilding the Jackson Ward area to its former grandeur as the "Harlem of the South."

RRHA CEO Steven Nesmith said with current uncertainty over federal funding — this move would help them lock in help for tenants and give them more freedom to secure different types of funding. 

“This is a process that is informing the residents, this is a process that started in 2023,” Nesmith said. “If we can transfer phases of Gilpin Court as it is developed into the RDC, then we can lock in what's called tenant protection vouchers.”

The transfer will be done in phases using a "ground lease" to develop new affordable housing.  RDC non-profit controlled by RRHA.

Nesmith also said going through their non-profit arm will give them more freedom to secure different types of funding. 

But not everyone is on board with this move.

In a statement, Richmond City Councilmember Kenya Gibson called on board commissioners to reconsider their decision to transfer the property to the non-profit 

“I am shocked to learn that residents’ democratic rights may vanish overnight with little public oversight or any advanced warning to residents at all,” Gibson said in a letter to the RRHA CEO and Board of Commissioners.

“Public Housing is the oldest housing subsidy program in our nation and enjoyed broad public support as an economic ladder up until it was formally desegregated. Since then, funding for public housing has been slashed in favor of privatization, and as a result, its reputation has been diminished,” Gibson said.

Gibson also said decisions that affect the most vulnerable need more time.

“In Richmond, there's always a crisis, you know? Doesn't it seem a lot of times that there's some reason why we must rush and make a decision?" Gibson said. "I appreciate that there is uncertainty on the federal level. Yes, I do. Do I think that that means we need to make a rash decision without a plan in place that's going to impact 2000 residents? No, I do not."