Newport News Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood
Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood: Our Story
Newport News Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood
Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood: Our Story
WHAT IS CNI?
The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI), managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), gives grants to local communities to transform neighborhoods into places of choice by rebuilding distressed public housing and assisted housing, improving and expanding services, expanding learning opportunities, creating pathways to jobs, and strengthening families.
In 2016, the City of Newport News and the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NNRHA) was awarded a $500,000 CNI Planning Grant to create the Transformation Plan. The target neighborhood was named Marshall-Ridley. In May 2019, following the excellent work completed under the Planning Grant, NNRHA and the City were awarded a $30 million Implementation Grant to implement the Transformation Plan.
CNI Community Investments
Click the image to the left to enjoy our interactive map for more information on community investments made in the Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood during the pre-Implementation Phase of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative from 2016-2019.
Enjoy this citizen-led video about The Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood.
CNI people plan lead
CNI people plan lead
In 2019, the City of Newport News and the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority received a $30 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Choice Neighborhoods Initiative program. This grant is transforming the Marshall-Ridley area in the Southeast Community, creating new housing options, community services, recreational opportunities, and parks.
A key component of the Marshall-Ridley Transformation Plan is engaging with former Ridley Place residents to ensure they are aware of available resources and have the support they need to thrive. The City of Newport News has partnered with Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) to lead this important part of the Plan. USI will provide the following strategic pillars of service for each former Ridley household:
Develop economic opportunities, with focuses on employment, entrepreneurship, and other strategies used to address the wealth gap for low-income and communities of color.
Create cradle-to-college/career successes to ensure every scholar has access to equitable educational opportunities.
Strengthen access to high quality health services to support healthy lifestyle outcomes for former Ridley residents of all ages.
Implement a range of comprehensives human service supports to ensure households not only have supports to build stability, but also a pathway towards thriving.
Founded in 1978, USI is a leader in the field of community development, with extensive experience in place-based human capital development. USI will utilize its results-based, people-centered approach to partner with former residents of Ridley and the greater Newport News community. To learn more about USI, visit www.urbanstrategiesinc.org.
neighborhood leadership institute
neighborhood leadership institute
The Neighborhood Leadership Institute is a 12-week, four-section educational and inspirational experience for residents of the Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood and neighborhoods across the City of Newport News. Our vision is every resident of the City of Newport News is educated and equipped to lead our community.
Click here to learn more.
Questions: Call 757-926-8081.
“The icebreakers are always a treat! The speaker was informative and shed some light on a topic I was unaware about.” - Former Participant
Citizen-driven transformation!
Citizen-driven transformation!
The Marshall-ridley Choice Neighborhood
The Marshall-ridley Choice Neighborhood
MARSHALL-RIDLEY choice neighborhood
Located in the Southeast Community, this neighborhood has a rich African- American heritage. Historically home to many black shipyard workers and administrators, it was once a thriving middle class residential area that grew with the shipbuilding and military economic boom in the first half of the 20th century.
The neighborhood boundaries are 39th Street to the north, Hampton Roads harbor to the south, I-664 to the west, and Marshall Avenue and the former Chase Bag property to the east.
WTKR News Channel 3 - Choice Neighborhoods Initiative - Ridley Place Transformation - February 25, 2022
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, Newport News - Phase 1 Housing Groundbreaking Ceremony
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative: Virtual Community Meeting - May 14, 2020
Choice Neighborhood Initiative's Transformation Plan Update - August 27, 2019
updates & progress!
updates & progress!
CHECK OUT LEGACY LANDING!!!
Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Newport News Early Childhood Development Center
The City of Newport News, in partnership with Peake Childhood Center and Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC), is pleased to announce the grand opening of the new Newport News Early Childhood Development Center (NNECDC) with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Thursday, Jan. 16. The event marked the opening of the long-anticipated educational facility located in the city’s Southeast community.
The NNECDC will provide high-quality early childhood education and care for approximately 200 children ranging from 6 weeks to 5 years old. While located in Newport News, the center will serve families from across the Peninsula, offering an innovative and accessible learning environment for children in their formative years.
The center is designed to support children academically, socially, and emotionally, ensuring that all children who attend are well-prepared for kindergarten and beyond. Additionally, the center will continue implementing its unique sliding-scale tuition rate model based on family income and needs, making quality education accessible to more families in the region.
For more information, visit https://www.nnva.gov/youththrive, https://peakecc.org/, or https://vpcc.edu/.
November 2023 CNI Community Update Meeting
April 2022 CNI Community Update Meeting
On Thursday, April 28, 2022, The Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the City of Newport News hosted a community update meeting at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center. This meeting included updates on the progress for the housing, people, and neighborhood plans.
Did you miss the meeting on April 28, 2022? If so, you can view the replay below or click here.
To stay updated on the progress and happenings in the Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood, as well as community resources and services, subscribe to our email list by clicking here.
Ridley Place Commemorative Event, February 2022
Ridley Place: The Next Chapter - Commemorative Event - February 26, 2022
WTKR News Channel 3: Newport News Choice Neighborhoods Initiative
WTKR News Channel 3 - Choice Neighborhoods Initiative - Ridley Place Transformation - February 25, 2022
“…So today, we just want to make sure that as transformation begins happening on that space that we see behind us, that you’re remembered. That’s your history…and a rich history it is. So though today we remember, let us also be excited for the renaissance that will be the next chapter built on that land for you.”
The transformation has begun.
Community Resilience
Resilience is the ability of people, institutions and businesses to respond to and come back from difficult situations such as emergencies, natural disasters and economic crises to build stronger, more succesful communities.
Community Resilience
Resilience is the ability of people, institutions and businesses to respond to and come back from difficult situations such as emergencies, natural disasters and economic crises to build stronger, more succesful communities.
The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative focuses on three, key areas:
HOUSING
Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and meets the needs of the surrounding neighborhood.
PEOPLE
Improve educational results and potential future success for youth by providing services and support systems right to youth and their families.
NEIGHBORHOOd
Create the conditions needed for public and private investment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the services and amenities available and important to families like good schools, local businesses and transportation.
Our health and wellness trail is coming!
Our health and wellness trail is coming!
What is the health and wellness trail?
As part of its implementation of its Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) Implementation Grant, the City of Newport News will be creating a Health and Wellness Trail Network. This project is one of the Critical Community Improvements being supported by CNI funds. The Health and Wellness Trail Network is a place-making activity intended to connect the various nodes of activity and investments areas within the Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood (MRCN) and surrounding community to promote health, wellness, social connectivity, and access to economic development opportunity, and to highlight the rich history of the community.
The Health and Wellness Trail Network will create an additional spine through MRCN, extending from the waterfront at Pinkett’s Beach to 18th Street, and connect to other transportation corridors, including the complete streets improvements on Ivy Avenue and 16th Street, the proposed alignment for the Birthplace of America Trail on 16th Street and Madison Avenue, and broader connections to the greater Southeast Community and Downtown.
You can learn more about the trail and what’s to come by viewing our last community meeting and downloading the handouts.