In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the neighbourhood known as East Ghent – bordered by Olney Road to the south, Llewellyn Avenue to the east, Shirley Avenue to the north, and Colonial Avenue to the west – was a community in disrepair. Dominated by dilapidated low-income rental housing and plagued by the usual issues that go along with it, everyone agreed something needed to be done.
That was not the beginning of the story, though. Renewal projects had been in the works since the 1940s, with a multi-million dollar grant from the U.S. Housing Authority for urban redevelopment. In 1948, however, senator Joe “Red Scare” McCarthy, criticizing the USHA for its “socialist” undertones, introduced a bill that removed the necessity of replacing demolished homes with public housing opportunities. Naturally, it passed.
In 1950, the public housing communities of Tidewater Park and Young Park, at the intersection of Brambleton Avenue and Monticello Avenue, were constructed and heralded as a great success. On the heels of this victory, the City of Norfolk set out to raze the entire downtown neighbourhood of Atlantic City, a largely Black community, displacing a staggering 20,000 people – far more than Tidewater and Young Parks could absorb, and with no further plan for new low-income housing. Many were forced to move to the adjacent East Ghent, an area already in decline due to the infamous white flight of the post-war era.
Fifteen years later, the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority set their sights on this same area, now becoming a desirable location between downtown and upscale Ghent. This time, they seemed to work with the residents, who had the East Ghent Neighborhood Association to negotiate on their behalf. Residents were promised that they would be able to continue living in the area, which would be rebuilt with a racially-integrated mixture of low, middle, and high income housing. They were told the project would be completed in steps, rebuilding as they demolished, to allow the residents to move directly into new homes and minimize displacement.
Once the EGNA signed off on the plan, the entirety of the neighbourhood was razed before any construction began. It sat fallow for five years while developers, agonizing over interest rates, delayed the process and the 590 families who made their homes in the area scrambled to find places to live. Once building did begin, what went up was very different than what was promised. The upper-middle-income complex now known as Ghent Square began to take form, marketed exclusively to the rich, the white, and the well-educated – and priced accordingly. 20 years after being forced out of downtown, the now-former residents had to make permanent homes in more expensive areas like Berkley and Park Place.
History is repeating itself today with the redevelopment of Norfolk’s St. Paul’s neighbourhood, which is being demolished and replaced with high-end luxury downtown condos, after many years of familiar promises. The grandchildren of those forced out of East Ghent are having to leave the homes they were forced into only a few decades ago. This story echoes in cities across America, as the cycle of manufactured poverty and generational displacement reinforces itself, and leaves millions of broken families in its wake.
“Stovall {Clerk of the Circuit Court] is confident that East Ghent will be integrated racially and economically. Its location, he believes, assures it.” ‘E. Ghent Plan…’ late 60s, exact source unknown “Homeowners say there is a community spirit already building in Ghent Square, where the typical resident is young, literate, white, and a high-salaried professional worker.” ‘Building in Ghent ‘frontier’ : Chic, expensive living in Ghent townhouses catches fancy of new folk and ex-suburbanites’ Legder-Star, November 14 1977“In acordance with the residents’ desires, the redevelopment will proceed in stages to minimize the problems of dislocation” ‘East Ghent project Gets Final Approval’ Ledger-Star, November 3 1969 “In fact, the authority hopes to build the first units in areas where there are no houses now, so that displaced residents can move directly into new homes in the neighborhood” ‘E. Ghent Gets Final Federal Okay’ Virginian Pilot, November 4 1969 “[Pailen, East Ghent Neighborhood Association Chairman] said that the authority appears embarked on a program of total clearance before any houses are constructed” ‘Rebuilding in Ghent Criticized’ Virginian Pilot, November 30 1971“Gresham said he felt that white flight is of great concern in planning. ‘It’s important to bring about a balance. We’re not doing anybody, black or white, a favor if we let al the central city become a ghetto.’ “A well-designed community is the basis, he believes. ‘We can’t decide that this will be black and that white – it’s against the law. So we must create a feeling that a community is stable and inviting and lends itself to the kind of convenience and enticement that will make people want to go into it.’ ” ‘E. Ghent Plan…’ late 1960s, exact source unknown {paper/date?]“All types of housing will be built, low moderate and high income … planners say the greatest need in the first stage of construction probably will be for moderate and low income housing.” ‘E. Ghent Plan Gets Final Federal Okay’ Virginian Pilot, November 4 1969 “Ghent Square is a creation of upper-middle to upper-income housing that is still in the development stage in Norfolk.” ‘Ghent Square Proves Doubters Wrong’ Virginian Pilot, September 30 1979“Hofheimer, head of the National Realty Corp., told the commissioners that the two- and three- bedroom townhouses would probably sell for between $60,000 and $70,000 and that the detached homes will probably cost between $40,000 and $45,000*.” ‘More Homes for Ghent Square’ Virginian Pilot, August 21 1975 “Single-family homes in Ghent Square are selling for $225,000 to $300,000 each” ‘41 vie to build on last Chunk of Ghent Square’ Virginian Pilot, June 20 1984“One of the protective devices built in for the prospective developers was a price floor for the dwellings. [Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority] and the City Council adopted a policy statement that no public or low-rent housing could be admitted and the price of the first house would be the minimum allowable price. Further, this floor would escalate yearly according to the consumer price index.” ‘Ghent Square Proves Doubters Wrong’ Virginian Pilot, September 30 1979“New City Councilman Joseph N. Green Jr. told the [Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority] that he has ‘heard a lot about the expensive homes,’ and wondered about the less expensive homes. ‘Any word on those yet?’ “After a few seconds of silence, [NRHA Chairman Julian] Rashkind said, ‘There’s no word on those yet.’” ‘More Houses Planned for Ghent Square’ Virginian Pilot, July 13 1977
