After decades of advocating for better living conditions, residents of two of Charlottesville’s public housing communities are moving into new homes.
On Monday, June 5 and Tuesday, June 6, Charlottesville’s Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) and the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA) will hold ribbon cutting ceremonies for both Crescent Halls and South First Street, respectively.
Both properties are owned by CRHA, and residents’ rents are subsidized by government housing programs.
CRHA extensively renovated Crescent Halls, an apartment building with more than 100 homes for seniors, over the past two years.
The organization also rebuilt the South First Street community. Both projects together have cost about $30 million so far, paid for with taxpayer money, including some funding from the City of Charlottesville, as well as funding from the not-for-profit Virginia Housing and private donations from organizations like Bama Works. The projects are not complete, and it’s unclear what the total cost will be.
Construction on South First Street also began about two years ago. So far CRHA has built three new buildings that house 62 new apartments and a new community center. The apartments are ready for residents to move into. There will be two more phases of construction, with at least 113 additional homes.
Both the June 5 Crescent Halls event and the June 6 South First Street ribbon cuttings will begin at 3 p.m. There will be a party after the South First Street event. The entire Charlottesville community is welcome to attend.
Crescent Halls is located at 500 South First St. in downtown Charlottesville, next to IX Art Park. The South First Street community is located at 1000 South First Street, with the new buildings down the street from the 40-year-old brick and stucco homes.
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