An attractive development that matches the character of its historic Norfolk, Virginia, surroundings, the Market Heights apartment complex added quality affordable housing to a market that has seen rental rates spike over the last several years as an influx of residents attracted to the area’s affordability and job opportunities have led to record levels of demand.
In response, local housing developer the Lawson Cos. built a 164-unit, eco-friendly complex a block from Downtown in Norfolk’s St. Paul’s District that is exclusively for residents earning 40% to 60% of the area median income, Section 8 voucher holders and families displaced by the ongoing redevelopment of nearby public housing.
Designed by TS3 Architects, the brick mid-rise complex features high-end amenities not often associated with affordable housing, as well as a mobile food pantry that allows residents to shop for fresh groceries at no cost and a private telehealth booth and accessible fitness center. The development also incorporates residences for tenants with disabilities.
In recognition of the project's design and impact on the affordable housing market, Market Heights received a 2024 CoStar Impact Award for multifamily development of the year in Hampton Roads, as judged by an independent panel of local industry professionals.
A 2019 Housing Market Analysis conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates over 25% of renter households in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area are cost-burdened, spending 30% to 49% of their income on rent. An additional 24% are severely cost-burdened, spending 50% or more of their income on rent.
Rates in the Hampton Roads area have only increased since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, with rents continuing to outpace both regional and national trends since hitting record highs in 2021, according to CoStar data. In Norfolk alone, rental rates have jumped over 14% in the last three years, according to CoStar.
“Everyone is not going to be a bazillionaire, but everyone deserves quality in their home," Virginia Sen. Angelia Williams Graves said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2023.
About the Project: Located at 646 Tidewater Drive, Market Heights was a dual-phase development that offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Phase one used 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, while phase two utilized 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Amenities include a resident clubhouse and community room, secure building access, a fitness center and an enclosed dog park. The four-story brick complex was also the first project approved under the city of Norfolk’s new resilience code that mandates specific resilient measures that apply to flooding, energy efficiency and building integrity.
Lawson partnered with Hope House Foundation and Volunteers of America Chesapeake and Carolinas to provide permanent supportive housing to residents with disabilities, while nonprofit partner Hope House obtained a $100,000 grant through the Hampton Roads office of Local Initiatives Support Corp. to fund the mobile food pantry. The grant also provides on-site fitness and wellness classes for residents.
What the Judges Said: "Affordable housing is crucial to the region," said Kenneth Kahn, dean and professor of the Strome College of Business at Old Dominion University.
They Made It Happen: Carl Hardee, Aaron Phipps and Steve Lawson of The Lawson Cos. and Tom Smith of TS3 Architects.
CoStar Market Manager Christian Taylor contributed to this report.