Rebuilding an entire block of Venable Street

Last year about this time, word broke that Better Housing Coalition had purchased the Citadel of Hope building on Venable Street. Here is the first sketch of what may come of that block.

Along with the East End Theater, the Good Shepherd Baptist Church / Delta House building, and the former St.Paul’s on Marshall Street, Citadel of Hope has easily been one of the neighborhood’s most prominent vacant buildings for quite some time. The building was constructed in 1923 as the House of Happiness, a community center, by The City Circle of the Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union. Even as the southern side of that block of Venable has seen an amazing turnaround over the past 10 years, the Citadel of Hope has been a target for graffiti, and suffered a fire in 2011.

Documents from the upcoming Planning Meeting indicate that Better Housing Coalition is close to aquiring a good portion of the block bounded by Venable Street, Tulip Street, Jessamine Street and Carrington Street, with the intent to redevelop the block with up to 60 affordable residential units. The estimated total development cost is between $6.9 and $7.2 million.

The available development sketch (below) seems to show that the former gas station at Venable and Tulip Streets will be demolished.

Lynn McAteer with Better Housing Coalition will be at the Union Hill Civic Association meeting this coming Wednesday at 7PM the East District Family Resource Center (2405 Jefferson Avenue) to speak on this project.

Click image to view larger.

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