Hope You Had a Happy Independence Day

Good Afternoon,

I am looking at my calendar thinking, how is it already July 9? Was there a May or June? I hope you are enjoying your summer and taking full advantage of the good weather.

While taking a few days off from work at Sentara in June, I took the opportunity to drive around the city and check on flooding/sea level rise projects, neighborhoods, road projects and more. I was able to connect with some current and former civic league presidents and hear concerns and thoughts from their neighborhood. It makes such a difference to connect with people in this way and listen, listen, listen. I know that my friends in city administration just love it when I do this and then call and email with all sorts of questions and thoughts! It is also helpful for me to drive around the city at different times during the day to see traffic flows and pedestrian crossings that I don’t see when I take my normal commute to work. Our city is definitely opening up and coming back alive. It is great to see the vibrancy.

I joined residents and city leaders to celebrate Juneteenth at Town Point Park on Saturday, June 19. The turnout was strong and many took the opportunity to get vaccinated. I believe this will now become an annual event at the park, which is a wonderful location to celebrate such an historic milestone.

I joined the residents of Berkley at the announcement of the “Berkley Supermarket” in early June. The store will open in August/September and is much needed in the Berkley community. Norfolk Economic Development Authority provided the owner with a loan and incentives to assure the success of the store.

Have you heard about Colonial Flats in Norfolk? The old Stuart School in Colonial Place is now Colonial Flats with 54 apartments. The Monument Company from Richmond bought the property from the city and converted the large school building into 54 units, of which 52 were leased prior to opening. I toured the building and saw the one, two and three bedroom options. They kept many of the features of the old school including the wooden floors, barn doors, gym, and chalk boards. This is an excellent reuse while preserving the integrity of the old building. I know the residents of Colonial Place, Park Place, Riverview and many other surrounding neighborhoods enjoy seeing this large property come back to life. It had seen such decline that we were pleased Monument had the vision to make it work while keeping the old building intact.

I encourage all to get vaccinated and if you haven’t already, please do. We want to do all we can to keep the residents of Norfolk safe.

Enjoy your July.

Cheers!

Courtney