New, energy-efficient affordable housing provides 66 modern apartments for families in the Highland Park neighborhood; Groundbreaking for Green Park Apartments community will create 43 affordable apartments and commercial space
Richmond, VA – Enterprise Community Development was joined by city and state leaders Oct. 2 to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting of Highland Terrace Apartments, a 66-unit affordable housing community located in the historic Highland Park neighborhood. The event marks the completion of a much-anticipated project designed to offer sustainable and affordable housing for families earning between 40% and 60% of the area median income (AMI). Enterprise also broke ground on a new community, Green Park Apartments, that will bring 43 affordable apartments and 3,010 square feet of street-level commercial space to the Highland Park neighborhood.
Those in attendance for the celebration included:
- Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney
- Councilwoman (6th District) Ellen Robertson
- Shaun Donovan, President and CEO, Enterprise Community Partners
- Janine Lind, President, Enterprise Community Development
- Bryan Horn, Director, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development
- Monique Johnson, Ph.D., Chief of Programs, Virginia Housing
- Steven Nesmith, Chief Executive Officer, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority
- Mark Johnson, VP and Community Development Manager, Truist
“Thank you. Enterprise,” said Richmond City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson. “With today’s grand opening of Highland Terrace and the groundbreaking of Green Park Apartments, you are proving to our community and to the City of Richmond that being inclusive and providing a decent place for people to live is possible and is a reality.”
The new four-story community is built on the site of the former Mizpah Presbyterian Church and Nehemiah House Community Center. Its design honors the site’s history by incorporating a section of the church’s original brick into the modern building. The apartments range from one- to three-bedroom units and feature washer and dryer hookups, energy-efficient HVAC systems, LVT flooring, and EnergyStar appliances. Seven units are designed to Universal Design Standards, including two tailored for vision- and hearing-impaired residents.
"This project builds on the momentum of other Enterprise projects in Richmond, such as neighboring Highland Park Senior Apartments, showcasing our dedication to creating sustainable, energy-efficient affordable housing that strengthens local communities,” said Janine Lind, president of Enterprise Community Development. “This week we welcome more than 60 families to their new apartment homes at Highland Terrace Apartments as we break ground on 43 apartment homes across the street at Green Park Apartments.”
Highland Terrace Apartments is designed to meet certification under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Homes program, a rigorous standard for energy efficiency and performance. The homes are built to be so energy-efficient that a renewable energy system could offset most, if not all, of the building’s annual energy consumption.
“Highland Terrace and Green Park add to our four-decade track record of creating more than a million homes, as both communities embrace the future of what it means to call a home affordable,” said Shaun Donovan, Enterprise Community Partners CEO and President. “That’s because both communities embrace clean energy, meet some of the highest standards of sustainable development and low energy use, and help challenge conventional wisdom on how beautiful and energy-efficient affordable homes can be.”
Highland Terrace Apartments is located at 1224 E Brookland Park Blvd, Richmond, Virginia. Torti Gallas + Partners led the architectural design, while UrbanCore Construction served as the general contractor. Enterprise Residential is managing the community.
The $22 million project was financed through a combination of public and private investments. Funding includes 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity from Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., construction financing from Truist Bank, and contributions from Virginia Housing Innovations in Energy Efficiency (HiEE), Virginia Housing Trust Fund, Virginia HOME, and the Richmond Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The project received substantial backing from the City of Richmond Housing & Community Development, as well as ongoing support from the local community.
As part of its investment in and commitment to the Highland Park neighborhood, Enterprise Community Development also celebrated the groundbreaking of Green Park Apartments, a new construction project that will bring 43 affordable apartments and 3,010 square feet of street-level commercial space to the Highland Park neighborhood. Both developments reflect Enterprise Community Development's broader commitment to sustainable, inclusive growth in Richmond, across the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the Mid-Atlantic.
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Enterprise Community Partners is a national nonprofit that exists to make a good home possible for the millions of families without one. We support community development organizations on the ground, aggregate and invest capital for impact, advance housing policy at every level of government, and build and manage communities ourselves. Since 1982, we have invested $72 billion and created 1 million homes across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands – all to make home and community places of pride, power and belonging. Join us at enterprisecommunity.org.
Enterprise Community Development is a mission-driven affordable housing provider that specializes in high-impact residential development, preservation, property management and resident services for more than 24,000 people who call our communities home. Our $1.4 billion portfolio includes 115 communities and 14,000 homes, positioning us as the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in the Mid-Atlantic and the sixth largest nonprofit owner of affordable housing in the United States. We are an affiliate of Enterprise Community Partners. For more information, visit www.enterprisecommunitydevelopment.org.