After 69 years, Marilyn Olds, president of both the Richmond Tenant Organization and the Creighton Court Tenant Council, has bid farewell to her home in Creighton Court.

Now 73, she said she “cried like a baby” when she saw the foundation and trees gone from where she lived almost her entire life.

“It hurt,” Ms. Olds said. “The thing about it is when they build it back up and you drive by and can’t get in, it’s going to hurt.”

Ms. Olds’ unit was one of 32 units demolished as part of phase one of the Creighton Court redevelopment, which will be rebuilt with 68 new apartment units.

She chose to temporarily relocate to a different part of Creighton Court until the redevelopment of her former residential area is complete.

The installation of new infrastructure started earlier this year and will continue through 2024, even as initial construction of new residences begins, according to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Under RRHA's plan, the installation of new infrastructure, which includes new streets, alleys, underground piping and electrical systems, will be done in three phases, while the development of the new apartments and homes will be accomplished in 11 phases.

Residents in phase two of the infrastructure replacement program are in the process of being relocated, RRHA has stated.

Residents had the option to stay in Creighton Court, receive vouchers to relocate to other developments off-site or move to other RRHA housing, the authority stated.

Ms. Olds, who lives on a fixed income, said it was easier for her to stay in the community than it was to try to start over elsewhere.

She expects some residents living on fixed incomes will experience hardship transitioning out of public housing, given Richmond’s high rents.

She added that she is already receiv- ing calls from residents who do not know where to go after Creighton Court.

“A lot of them are scared and wor- ried,” Ms. Olds said. “You can feel the depression in the air, you can almost see it. This is what happens to a community that’s dying.”

As the Free Press previously reported, there will be 196 mixed-income units added to the former 504 units.

RRHA signed an agreement with The Community Builders to restrict the number of low- and very low-income residents allowed to live in the 105 townhomes and 626 apartments to be built.

TCB will develop 506 affordable apart- ments to replace the former Creighton units and 120 market-rate apartments, according to the Creighton redevelopment plan that City Council has approved.

The agreement will limit the number of subsidized affordable apartments for households with incomes at 30% or less than the area median income to 126 units.

It also will limit the number of units provided to households with annual incomes 60% or less than the area median income to 177 units.

These limits also will apply to 55 townhomes being built as affordable for households with incomes 80% or less than the area median income. Thirty-three townhomes will be built for those with incomes 60% or less than the area median income.

“The mayor talks about mixed-income, affordable housing but nobody can answer the question ‘what is affordable housing?’” Ms. Olds said. “Affordable for who?”

Sharon Herman, 66, secretary of the Creighton Court Tenant Council, also relocated. She has lived in Creighton Court for over 20 years.

The redevelopment could be considered gentrification, Mrs. Herman said. The improvements benefit the new people who will join the community and make the city look better more than it will benefit the residents who already lived there. Resident displacement is just the “tip of the iceberg,” she said.

Jayne Harris, 67, a resident of Creighton Court since she was a child, does not consider the redevelopment as gentrification but simply necessary renovations.

Mrs. Harris will be relocated as part of the phase two infrastructure work for the Creighton Court redevelopment. She has not received information about exactly where or when she will be relocated.

“I’m just going to miss my old development but everything has to change,” Mrs. Harris said.

Mrs. Herman raised concerns about how long it will take for the redevelopment to conclude.

“They told us this process is going to take five to 10 years,” she said. “Where are people going to be at five, 10 years from now?”

People relying on government assistance such as subsidized housing are not supported in the way they have been, and the future of public housing is uncertain, Ms. Olds said. Former residents are being “built out,” in her view.

“The whole culture is changing, and those of us that don’t fit into the new changes are going to be left out,” she said.

Despite the challenges, Ms. Olds, Mrs. Herman and Mrs. Harris are ready for something new.

“We are humans. We deserve the same equality as everybody else,” Mrs. Herman said. “Just because we’re public housing (residents) does not make us any less.”