NORFOLK, Va. — In less than two years, the empty lot in the 700 block of B Avenue in Norfolk could be filled with a home.
As of Sept. 25, the lot is one of four vacant city lots the city was preparing to auction through the city's partnership with GovDeals.com.
The goal of the partnership is to create more housing in the city.
“Folks who purchase these properties are expected to build single family homes for home ownership for seven years," said Norfolk Housing and Community Development Assistant Director Marcia McGill. "This way, we are not only providing much-needed single family homes in our city, but also encouraging wealth building through home ownership."
But not everybody is happy to hear about the potential development.
“It’s like gentrification, you know? They’re pushing the low-income people out and putting the middle class people in here," said Raymale Jeffery.
Jeffery lived in the neighborhood surrounding B Avenue when he was younger.
“They need to clean up the area first," Jeffery said.
Jeremy Walton currently lives in the neighborhood and is also worried about gentrification.
He said there are plenty of vacant homes in the neighborhood that could be renovated. He would rather see a grocery store built.
“There are no grocery stores around here," Walton stressed. "There’s no fresh means of fruits, vegetables, any of that and you’ve got people out here having babies. You have people out here who are in need of that, but the only place they can go is the corner store."
According to Google Maps, there is a Harris Teeter 1.1 miles (approximately five minutes) away from the vacant lot on B Avenue. There is a Walmart Neighborhood Market 2.7 miles (approximately 10 minutes) away.
Once a lot is purchased, the buyer has nine months from the time they take possession of it to start development and then 12 months to complete the home once construction starts.
In the neighborhood surrounding B Avenue, getting to this point has been a process.
A Plan Book has been created to guide development in the neighborhood.
“First, getting an understanding of what the community wanted for their community and then working at that intersection of what our city leadership wants and what the community wants," McGill said.
The city has previously auctioned off lots throughout the city four times since the program began, selling a total of 16 properties.
If a lot doesn't sell when it's auctioned, it is put back into the rotation of vacant lots to be auctioned.
As of Sept. 25, McGill said the city had about eight other properties that were "in the queue for sale."
So, what happens when all of the vacant lots are sold?
"This program is just one tool in the toolbox," McGill said. "There are most certainly other things that we're looking at. We have naturally-occurring affordable housing. With that being said, there's housing in the city that requires some attention. It's naturally affordable and we've got programs through our department which we're starting to look at those sites and see how we can elevate those properties to make sure they are meeting certain quality levels and make sure they are able to be affordable over a long period of time."
Other regional cities, McGill noted, are using GovDeals.com to sell a variety of property. Prior to entering into a contract with the company, the city was able to talk to the other regional cities to see how they are using it.
