Hope VI project concludes with ribbon-cutting at RiverView Place
KINGSPORT ‚ One of Kingsports oldest communities has gained a new lease on life and a new neighborhood as a four-year, multi-million dollar redevelopment project comes to a close.
The city of Kingsport held a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony Monday morning for the Riverview Place neighborhood ‚ a 32-home development on the old Riverview Apartments site ‚ the final phase of the HOPE VI redevelopment project.
Four years ago Kingsport received an $11.9 million HOPE VI revitalization grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant, along with additional monies from the city, went toward transforming the old run-down dwellings in Riverview and along Sherwood/Hiwassee with new, single-family houses for purchase and rent.
The first phase replaced 29 houses along Sherwood and Hiwassee with 24 new, affordable homes, while the second phase called for 32 rental houses and duplexes built on the old Riverview Apartments site and six additional houses built in the Riverview community.
“We thought there was no way a city the size of Kingsport would get this grant, and Im not sure that we really thought we were going to get it,” said Mayor Dennis Phillips. “If you have not stood outside and looked at the houses, it is probably the most amazing thing Ive seen in Kingsport in my life. I would be proud to live here.”
Armstrong Construction began work on the houses in Riverview in October 2009 and completed them earlier this month. The cost of the Riverview Place project, including demolition of the old Riverview Apartments site and new construction, came in around $8.4 million.
“I think we have something Armstrong and its employees can be very proud of. We have a project Im proud of, and hopefully it will be something Kingsport will be proud of for a long time,” said John Leonard, CEO of Armstrong.
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Story reprinted courtesy of the Kingsport Times-News
Written by Matthew Lane
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