Free Press staff report

 In 1946, a decade before the new Interstate 95 became the most heavily traveled north-south highway on the U.S. East Coast, a trio of African Americans — William E. Brooks, his wife, Audrey W. Brooks, and Dr. Cortlandt M. Colson — opened a motel along Route 1 in south Chester.

The business partners came up with the name for their Colbrook Inn by fusing the first three letters of Colson’s last name with the first five of Brooks. In addition to a brick main building, the property featured log cabin cottages, an air-conditioned restaurant and a service station. 

From 1956 to 1967, the renamed Colbrook Motel was included in the Green Book, a segregation-era listing of hotels, motels and other hospitality-related establishments Black people could patronize without fear of discrimination. (Renewed interest in the publication followed the 2018 release of the Academy Award-winning film “Green Book,” starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali.) 

William Brooks, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, and Audrey Brooks, who served as assistant principal at Chesterfield County’s Carver High School before becoming a professor at Virginia State University, owned and operated Colbrook Motel until 1982. 

Now, more than 40 years later, a local housing nonprofit is redeveloping the abandoned, once-blighted site with a $60 million project that will bring 144 quality affordable multifamily units to Chesterfield. 

“When I think back on my nearly 40 years of doing this work, I’ve been involved in almost $1 billion of affordable housing construction. This is the most special project because of the history of this property,” said Greta Harris, president and CEO of the Better Housing Coalition (BHC), during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday. “It has been a labor of love for more than five years getting to this point. There were times I didn’t think we’d get across the finish line, but we did.” 

BHC acquired the 10-acre Colbrook tract for $1.2 million in 2021, about two years after Dan Cohen, director of Chesterfield’s Community Enhancement Department, first pitched Harris on the possibility of redeveloping it as safe, secure housing for people with low to moderate incomes. Community Enhancement Department, 

Construction is now underway on the project, which was delayed first by the COVID-19 pandemic, then by a funding shortfall exacerbated by inflationary pressures on construction materials and labor. The apartments will be leased to households with annual incomes between 30% and 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), ranging from $34,050 to $90,800 for a family of four. 

“During an era when Black families couldn’t safely stop just anywhere to rest, the Colbrook Motel provided more than just shelter. It offered dignity and respect to those who stayed here,” said Jim Ingle, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “Today, the promise of dignity and opportunity is still alive. These new affordable housing units will provide working families with the stability they need to thrive.” 

Ingle called the need for quality affordable housing “one of the most urgent issues of our time.” 

As demand for housing continues to outpace supply, along with the rising cost of land and construction materials, prices for town homes and condominiums and market-rate apartment rents have also risen faster than household incomes over the past several years. That has created a significant shortage of residential units across the Richmond region that are affordable to people with even moderate incomes. 

In response, Chesterfield has embraced a multifaceted approach to increase the diversity of its housing stock and has partnered with local nonprofits to expand opportunities for low- and moderate-income workers to reside in the county. 

BHC has been investing in Chesterfield since 1997. Once the Colbrook project is finished, the nonprofit will have developed more than 800 units of quality affordable housing in the county and over 16,000 square feet of commercial space. 

“There is no way we could accomplish any of that alone. Every successful project requires the help and collaboration of many public, private and community partners who provide materials, capital, sweat equity and goodwill along the way,” said Todd Waldo, chair of BHC’s board of directors. “It takes a village — a very large village.” 

Chesterfield allocated about $2 million in federal funding to the Colbrook project. County staff and members of the Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia also worked closely with BHC to ensure that the site is redeveloped with respect to its historical significance. 

In 2022, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources approved a historical marker for the Colbrook site. The largest remaining historic artifact from Colbrook Motel — the roadside sign that once greeted motorists along Route 1 — has been preserved and will be displayed on the property. 

Earl Brooks, son of William and Audrey Brooks, has shared with BHC many photos and other artifacts he collected over the years. Each will be displayed in an onsite community center, as part of an interactive gallery highlighting the legacy of Colbrook Motel and the Green Book. 

“The fact that the Colbrook community is keeping this history alive is massively important because history, whether it makes us feel good or makes us feel uncomfortable, is essential to building our future,” said Josh Epperson, who wrote and helped develop an exhibition on the Green Book for the Smithsonian. The exhibition traveled around the country for five years, ending its run in February. 

“The Green Book and the stories of its businesses, including the Colbrook Motel, are a lesson that much is possible when we build for community,” Epperson added. “I hope the stories that are told about those who come to live here will be stories about people contributing to this county, this state and this country because of the dignity and support they received here. 

“It may not change the world, but if it changes a few lives for the better, it will have been worth the building.”