William Gibson was probably not thinking about this corner of our little city when he said that “the future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed”. Rolling up 32nd/33rd/34th from P Street to T Street is like going back in time to an urban geography that was significantly more common up here just 5 or 6 years ago.
While a wave of new construction and renovations in the past 10 years has really cut down on the vacant stock in much of the area, there are still some blocks that feel more vacant than not. One of these is a core at the north end of where Church Hill North starts to become Oakwood.
Church Hill North was identified as the most vacant neighborhood in the city in 2009 and 2010, with almost 150 vacant houses and lots and a vacancy rate of over 11%. Recent years have seen Habitat for Humanity’s Pillars at Oakmont, Better Housing Coalition’s Beckstoffer’s, and other smaller projects really fill in some of the gaps.
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2 comments
Opportunity is knocking – who will answer?
I may be moving to Richmond and would like to know more about this area and about your group. I have rehabbed a 1923 cottage in an area with few vacant houses