Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Concrete rubble blocks the doors to the gym at the old Armstrong High School in the 1600 block of North 31st Street near Nine Mile Road in the East End. The school building is being torn down to make way for more than 270 apartments, townhouses and single-family homes on the 21-acre property.
It is all part of the city-supported Church Hill North Revitalization project. Conceived under former Mayor Dwight C. Jones, razing the school is the first step toward replacing the Creighton Court public housing community located about a block away across Nine Mile Road. Some residents will move into the new apartments as work begins in Creighton Court.
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and a Boston-based nonprofit, The Community Builders, are spearheading the development. Just a few blocks south on Nine Mile Road, the city also is supporting development of new grocery, retail and residential project that is designed to complement the housing development.
